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Theatre

London,

66a Church Road


Rating: 5 out of 5 Fiona Mountford's rating
Rating: 5 out of 5

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Traverse, Edinburgh Fringe

Memories of home in 66a Church Road

66a Church Road
Long distance relationship: 66a Church Road

By Fiona Mountford
11 Aug 2008


Daniel Kitson was the reluctant stand-up as, after winning the Perrier Award, he slipped off the comedy radar. Instead of going down the television route and turning into Jimmy Carr, he has, infinitely more rewardingly, plumped for the homespun theatrical storytelling style of Alan Bennett. The result is the treat of the Fringe.

Everything that made him so good in stand-up is even better now he's sitting down, surrounded by suitcases. Freed from hecklers and knob gags, he lets his palpable love of language to flow unrestrainedly, shaping every phrase into a tiny gem. He delights in halfforgotten words such as "slipshod" and "perambulate" and makes us wish that the script were for sale in the foyer.

He has here the perfect fusion of style and subject, lamenting the lost love that was the flat of his old-fashioned dreams in Crystal Palace. In our transient culture, this eulogy to staying in the same place and filling it with love and memories, rather than merely varnishing the floors and moving on, shines like a beacon. His relationship with 66A was, he says, the longest of his life and fleeting, poignant references to an ex-girlfriend invite us to equate the levels of emotional investment.

Kitson certainly hasn't forgotten to how to be funny, with accounts of his dim-witted landlord a particular delight. Laughs and heart: 66A is the address for it all.

Until 24 August (0131 228 1404, www.traverse.co.uk).

Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.

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