Review: Masud Milas – Masud Abides

Half-Kenyan, half-English, and fully-committed to bringing back disco-fashion

★★★
comedy review (edinburgh) | Read in About 2 minutes
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Published 04 Aug 2018
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It's not every day you see a comic styled quite like Masud Milas. Tyler Durden-esque leather jacket, open-collared shirt, giant afro; it's a look that suits him. What's perhaps unfortunate is that Masud Abides (as a showcase of his comedic stylings) stands out from the crowd far less.

He's a standup that deals in broad strokes, a style that goes well with his slick aura and natural charm. Striking up a rapport with the crowd comes easily to him and he deserves a bigger audience with whom he could fully engage. It's old-school standup from a decidedly old-school character, and for the most part it hits the right notes.

Too often, though, he treads all too familiar ground in his material. Straining for faux outrage at society's pantomime villains and comedic whipping boys (Apple et al), it seems like he's working himself up to a free-flowing rant that never quite connects. His ire is undoubtedly sincere when it comes to his candid discussions of race, though, and it's here that he's at his bravest and best. An amusing, but rather shocking, audience participation game of "Thaaaaat's racist!" is a particular highlight. 

He's courageous in his frankness about race, but not so in his choice of observational routines. Nevertheless he feels fresh as a persona, like a reboot from another era, and with a little quality control he's well on his way to crafting a properly consistent hour of standup.