Sean Hughes: Life Becomes Noises

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The veteran comic returns to the Fringe with two shows this year. Sean Hughes Stands Up, as its title suggests, is what we've come to expect from him in recent times, a relatively conventional set tackling the usual staples of comedy. Life Becomes Noises, by contrast, is a thematically unified and theatrically staged work which frequently delves into disconcertingly personal territory. Though basing shows around paternal bereavement is something of a trend at present, no one else has had the nerve to deal with the subject in such frank and unsentimental terms.

Concerned that we take death too seriously, Hughes gallops on stage dressed as a jockey. He comments on our lacklustre reaction to what we discover is a dream sequence and insists that we play along with more enthusiasm. He goes on to interact with glove puppets, chat conversationally with his sound technician and have the front row create a distraction during a costume change. As these self-aware antics recur throughout the hour, one is reminded of Sean's Show, his third-wall breaking meta-sitcom from the early 90s. Where once these were whimsical moments of anarchic innocence, they now seem like a form of desperate escapism and contrast starkly with the man's newly acquired age, wisdom and experience.

What makes Life Becomes Noises so affecting is that darkness seeps into it despite Hughes' best intentions. For every jocular recollection of his father's confused answer phone etiquette is a candid memory that the performer acknowledges will haunt him for the rest of his life. Certainly, an audience member could make the same claim about this innovative and hugely accomplished show.