Mark Watson

The Mark Watson show had already started before half the audience had entered the room. It was, of course, Watson's intention to surprise audience members by appearing on stage prior to starting time - he wasn't talking; merely commentating on the incoming audience via lap top and projection screen. Judging by the laughter engulfing the bulk of the audience, Watson's pre-show entertainment made the capacity crowd's excitement for the ensuing performance even more palpable.

Watson's rapid-fire, breathless delivery is a trademark and gift - keeping up with the animated Brit seems to be half the fun. His sharp and markedly detailed anecdotes provoke hefty laughter throughout the show. Watson paces the stage like a nervous, albeit committed, man on a mission - what makes Watson so appealing is that the line is blurred between feverish anxiousness and vehement passion, self-deprecating genius and fuming cynic. He pokes fun at others tactfully and without malice, but will cut away at his own misgivings with no self-regard.
The theme of having an impact on someone's life, trying to affect people in a positive way or essentially having a dignified reason for one's existence is loosely tied into the show. As if realising the enormity of such a theme, Watson peppers the show with a variety of disparate issues - becoming a dad, mind-readers, English sports fans, family dynamics and Australian slang - so as to alleviate the solemnity.
 
However, by the end of the show, those issues somehow came together as Watson bemoaned society's disregard for the simplistic good. Watson is a highly experienced and masterful comic - proving that a hasty onslaught of words can carry great purpose.

Christine Lan's picture
Christine Lan
Joined: 9th December 2010
Last seen: 9th October 2012
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