Geoff Norcott: The Look of Moron

115270 original

Geoff Norcott talks a good game, but only when he's not on stage. The blurb for this show is bullish, promising to take on "lazy lefties" and "dogmatic atheists", indicating that Norcott would live up to his self-styled status as one of the few proud Conservative voters in a comedy industry generally seen as left-leaning.

But once he's confronted with the audience, it's another matter. Despite the fact he faces no apparent rancour from the crowd, Norcott appears somewhat nervous about bringing his iconoclastic Tory comedy to the land of massive SNP majorities. His more explicitly political material is apologetic, rather than pugilistic. He emphasises, a little desperately, that there is more that unites than divides him with the average Edinburgh punter.

As a result, you don't need to share Northcott's politics to enjoy this show. Only the most overzealous idealogue would be offended by Norcott, but equally, only the most devoted right-winger would give him a free pass purely for the positions he espouses. The Look of Moron is unashamedly middle-of-the-road observational comedy on domestic life and contemporary culture, for the most part unlikely to offend or beguile.

His strongest material is focused on his perception of himself (versus, say, how his agent perceives him), though one suspects there's a lot more that could be mined there. From the rapport he establishes with us, Norcott clearly has nothing to fear from the audience. But his lack of courage leaves the show underwhelming.