Comedy: Erich McElroy's (US) Electile Dysfunction
Three stars
IN Donald Trump, comics have the perfect subject. A man who cites both The National Enquirer and Alex Jones as “reliable sources”, he cannot open his mouth lest he offend someone, say the unthinkable or eat Kentucky Fried Chicken in manner hitherto unseen – with a knife and fork.
As McElroy, a seasoned US comic and floating voter from a small-c conservative town, explains, Trump's success is partly down to playing expertly to the echo-chamber of right-wing social media and how he has a genius for saying a terrible thing eg: “Mexicans are criminals and rapists” followed by a nice thing eg: “Mexicans are good people”, provoking a kind of cognitive dissonance that confused, weary voters don't really know how to respond to.
An expat who's lived the UK for over a decade (and who helmed one of the few shows in 2014 in support of keeping that Union), he's both likeably self-deprecating and open to the possibility he may be wrong.
Though some of his historical material on US politics will be familiar to anyone with a worn-out Bill Hicks CD, there's plenty of laughs to be had here (and his asides are often even funnier than his main material) as well as interesting comparisons between the UK and the US.
Until Aug 28, Laughing Horse @ Bar 50 (V151), 1.20pm (60mins), free but ticketed.
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