 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Laurence Clark : '12% Evil'
- Soho Theatre
- London
- 30 June 2007
Sit-down stand-up with a point to make
A Laurence Clark show is unlike any ordinary stand-up show. For one thing, Clark is a fearless disciple of PowerPoint. His act is interwoven with slides and audio-visual razzmatazz to make the producer of an early eighties sci-fi TV programme proud. For another thing, from his wheelchair, Clark doesn’t stand up.
Clark’s biggest obstacle should be overcoming the initial anxiety of his audience, convincing them that they really are able to giggle at the awkward predicaments of a disabled man. But the nervous laughter that greets Clark almost instantly dissipates into the rip-roaring sort. In his own inimitable, gamely way, Clark jumps into an uncomfortable subject matter; how disabled people are treated across society, through history and on celluloid. With scientific precision, he reveals a Dan Brown-like conspiracy in Hollywood to characterise those with physical, or psychological, flaws as evil doers. Take note, audiences, for Bond villains Jaws and Blofeld were woefully misunderstood. That said, while Clark confesses he may be 12 per cent evil, he is a saint compared with the likes of Richard III, Long John Silver and Heather Mills-McCartney.
Other topics stem from Clark's acute, fantastic observations of a society which routinely patronises disabled people. These are issues that obviously grate, but you couldn’t tell from his cheeky demeanour. Nonetheless, it is a shame that disability has to be such a big part of his show, because Clark is at his most brilliant when he goes ‘off-topic'.
This is a work in progress for Edinburgh. When this man reaches Scotland, he will assuredly have audiences in stitches.
Will Henley
