★★
Lee Nelson's latest show promised a brand new Lee, but in my opinon when it came to the content of the show he failed to deliver.
A very different Lee Nelson to the one we're most familiar with graced the stage last night, gone was the white tracksuit and baseball cap and in was a smart two-piece suit and slick hair.
Basically, this is the stand-up gig Simon Brodkin wanted to do as himself, but knew he could only sell tickets if it was under the guise of Lee Nelson.
At least that's the vibe I got last night at the Cabaret Bar in the Pleasance Courtyard, it was Simon Brodkin doing stand up using Lee Nelson's silly accent.
A clear lack of material meant Lee spent the entire show chatting to the audience. Finding out who the youngest was, the oldest, where people had come from, what religion they were and what car they drove. No, really.
If Lee Nelson was to do this, and do it well, he would have ripped the audience a new one. Instead Lee attempted to do this last night, but didn't quite go far enough. At the end, he would smile almost sheepishly, looking apologetic at the thought he might have insulted someone. A very different Lee to the one he created in 2011.
It wasn't all audience interaction though, there were some one-liners thrown in there two. The problem was that I was getting to the punchline before he did, and I'm not a comedy. The jokes were cliched, predictable and entirely unoriginal.
The audience seemed to enjoy themselves though, I'll give him that. There were a few moments that I did laugh, I'll admit that. It wasn't a terrible show, just not what I expected when I chose to go and watch Lee Nelson.
Throughout the entire performance I could see Simon Brodkin desperate to escape Lee Nelson and take over. If he had, it might have been a better show.