Michael Legge: What a Shame

Calling the crowd his ‘God Gang’ and preaching about his own childhood Christian beliefs, initially the audience aren’t sure what to make of Michael Legge. 

Eventually, the true-believer mask slips just enough to allow them to relax, but even then his delivery has a religious fervour. When especially excited, he almost starts speaking in tongues. This energy helps to sweep the audience along, although the punchlines sometimes lack such Old Testament power. 

The religious theme gets dropped halfway through, leaving a collection of embarrassing stories from his life. Legge is a habitually unlucky man and while the anecdotes aren’t hilarious they are well told, if clunky. What happened to religion, then?  

He is also enjoyably bitchy about other comedians, with a honed resentment developed over a lifetime in the industry. He has a range of snide asides about figures such as Dave Gorman (with whom he is often mistaken) and the clichés of standup at the Fringe. Granted, this material may appeal mainly to critics and others weary of comedy PowerPoint presentations and insincere ‘touching messages’. 

Indeed, it’s a shame Legge couldn’t get over his apparent distaste for themes and messages, because there is the feeling of squandered potential here. The religious beginning could easily have been expanded. What’s more, no mention is made of the ‘RIP Gregg Jevin’ hoax Legge perpetrated earlier in the year, where he led touching memorials to a recently deceased comedian that never existed. 

If Legge really were Dave Gorman, that would have been a book and a slideshow by now.