Review – Daniel Sloss: Teenage Kicks, Pleasance Dome

– September 3, 2009Posted in: comedy, edinburgh, review

Remember Family Fortunes? Well, we asked a hundred fringegoers on the Royal Mile what they knew about Daniel Sloss, and our survey saaaid:

  • He’s 18
  • This is his third year at the Fringe
  • Frankie Boyle thinks he’s funny
But that’s not all. He’s also from Fife. And it’s not just Frankie Boyle who thinks he’s funny.Teenage Kicks, Sloss’ 2009 fringe show is a clear break-out performance for this young comedian. The material is superb, even if it doesn’t really deal with much beyond the obvious fact that he’s younger than most of his audience: “People say they’re worried about getting old. Don’t worry, you’re already old” or “Some comedian’s brag about sleeping with girls half their age; I’m eighteen” pretty much give you an idea of the ground we’re covering here.

What really makes Sloss such fun to watch is his confidence and his easy conversational style with the audience, some of whom were even younger than him. Brian Logan wrote a helpful article in the Guardian on how to have a nice day out at the fringe with your children, but here’s one tip from me: don’t base your show choices solely on title. Teenage Kicks it may be, but this was certainly not suitable for children, although it must be admitted that the two 12 year olds in the front row for our show certainly enjoyed themselves.

The key test now for Daniel Sloss has to be whether he can move on to perform comedy that doesn’t rely on the gimmick of his youth. If not, there’ll be someone younger along sooner or later. But if his two minutes on airline food is half as good as what he showed this year at the fringe, then he’s a superb talent to watch.

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