When I first saw Rhys James at the Edinburgh Fringe back in 2013, with Rhys James: Prepares, it was in the backroom of a pub and the tickets were free. Every year since I’ve made sure this talented comedian is top of my ‘must-see’ list and it never really feels like the Fringe has started until I’ve seen his show. So, it came as a bitter disappointment last year to find that he’d taken a year off, but myself and audiences alike are reaping the rewards as he triumphantly returns with his all new comedy hour, Rhys James: Snitch.
We can forgive Rhys for taking a year off, he’s been very busy becoming a series regular on Mock The Week, as well as having his own show on Radio 4. And all that means you’ll no longer find him in the back of the pub, Rhys is playing the prestigious Pleasance Above, and the queue that stretched down the street outside just goes to show how popular he’s become.
Perhaps his appeal lies in just how normal a guy he is, within a few moments of his set it feels like your having a drink with your mate down the pub, except this mate is much funnier than all your other mates put together, and you don’t actually need to buy him a drink. Sometimes with stand-up the audience can feel tense, unsure what will come next, and more importantly if it will involve them, but Rhys makes everyone feel at ease immediately (apart perhaps from the couple who tried to sneak out early.)
Like his previous shows, Snitch concentrates on the seemingly mundane occurrences of his own life. The thrust of the show revolves around being asked back to his old school to give a talk to the year 11’s, allowing him to reflect on his current life situation. He’s moved in with his girlfriend and they’re renting a flat, opening up a type of observational comedy that we can all relate to.
His observations on the different stages of life are acutely funny, very relatable and memorable. The next day I visited my mum only to find myself in fits of laughter when I spotted the seat in her shower (he does a great routine on bathing technique throughout life). None of the individual parts of his act seem particularly related, yet Rhys James has an uncanny knack of weaving stories together into a fantastic narrative.
While his trademark poetry has become less prominent in his later shows, we get a glimpse of it in Snitch, reminding us where this all began. Rhys James is one of the most talented comedians to grace the Edinburgh Fringe, and while we felt his absence last year, he has come back with a side-splittingly funny hour of comedy that the audience just couldn’t get enough of.
