RATING: 4/5
Christopher Bliss’s Captain Words Eye continues playing every day from today until Sunday, 28th August, 6:40pm at Pleasance Courtyard – Beneath.
A SMALL corner of Pleasance Courtyard at the Edinburgh Fringe welcomes a truly unique comedian in the form of Christopher Bliss.
A quirky, strange and lively individual, Christopher Bliss is a character from the mind of comedian and writer Rob Carter.
Marking his fifth appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe, the proud Shropshire native’s newest show is Captain Words Eye.
Clad in a blue shell suit windbreaker and white socks and sandals, he paints quite the picture as comedians go (despite insisting that he is a professional writer).
An energic intro sees him bounce out to the microphone to the sound of Livin’ La Vida Loca, with a shed load of audience participation made clear right from the get go.
Running around the room high-fiving his audience, Chris does a fantastic job of engaging the crowd, asking questions about their lives and making the show seem as though it’s a collaborative effort between himself and these strangers.
The show itself is based around literature, and Chris’s profession as a writer. It revolves around the idea of him discussing different forms of literature and proving how “brilliant” he is at them, whilst seeking an apprentice to pass his wisdom on to.
The show is perhaps slightly slow on the uptake, with the introductory bit where he reads nonsense verses from his various “novellas” proving a tad repetitive and perhaps a little too niche of a comedy type for some of the audience.
He quickly recovers any doubts that an audience member may prematurely have about him though, through his unrivalled portrayal of the character. Ironic, as Chris states the only form of writing he can’t do is character comedy.
Rob’s alter-ego is eccentric, overly self-confident, blissfully unaware and frankly a bit weird – but it’s all of this that makes him so lovable.
Highlights of the show include his efforts to work with the crowd to write a story, through different audience members suggesting words.
These are all pieced together in the end for a truly wacky outcome which stirred up chuckles from even the sternest audience members.
Whilst seeming rather like a section that stands by itself, it comes full circle in a very impressive finale which this writer will keep unspoiled, for you to enjoy yourself.
The humour is clean – Chris admits this himself at the start with his warning that the show contains scenes that some viewers may find “extremely nice”.
And, whilst some jokes are pretty run-of-the-mill, he works in some excellent yarns, meta-jokes and general anti-humour to smooth over any cracks.
His animated performance in particular keeps the audience almost always in stitches, and when you’re not laughing, you’re left hooked on this man’s every word.
Perhaps the most unexpected part of this hour-long show was the positive and reassuring message that runs throughout, regarding self-doubt.
It hints towards Rob’s reliance on this larger-than-life character to deal with his own shyness and lack of drive and self-belief.
It makes for a touching twist on a show that is otherwise totally bonkers.
Upon initially seeing Chris bounce out at the start, I would never have expected to have gone beyond surface level with this character, but you’re left feeling like you’ve really learned something about not only the character, but the man behind the mask.
This happy-go-lucky, charming and innocent character does a fantastic job in making you like him – you just can’t help but root for this guy.
Whilst it’s primarily painted as a lighthearted, goofy show, there’s an unmissable underlying theme upon which this entire peformance wouldn’t exist without.
This show will make you laugh, that’s a guarantee, but it’ll also make you feel something inside for Chris/Rob and his plight, and that alone is enough to recommend this to anyone.
To read more of Deadline News’ dedicated coverage of the Edinburgh Fringe click here.
