Review: Aaron Simmonds: Disabled Coconut

It may seem like an odd complaint to level against a standup, but Aaron Simmonds really does like to talk about himself. While the labyrinthine series of coincidences and chance encounters he relates to us here is admittedly anecdotal gold that few comedians could resist using as the basis of a Fringe show, Disabled Coconut is seriously lacking in universal detail. An audience will likely remember it as a list of things that allegedly happened to a man, as opposed to something in any way familiar or relatable. Ultimately, we feel little connection to the performer or his very well-told story.

The show revolves around two incidents. One sees Simmonds—who has cerebral palsy—find love at a gig in a venue with poor wheelchair access. The other incident revolves around a Twitter feud with a fellow disabled person, who trolls the performer for not being disabled enough. Both strands tie together with such ease that one can only assume artistic licence has played a part in structuring the narrative. It's just too satisfying. What is essentially a big-hearted and unconventional love story comes across as an oddly contrived helping of exposition.

Simmonds is a supremely confident and intelligent performer with authoritative delivery, but his ultimate downfall is that he's slick to the point that we lose trust in him.