Larry Dean: Hellbent - Pleasance Beyond Pleasance Courtyard - Review

Comedy is perhaps what the Edinburgh Fringe is best known for, and with that comes the flurry of stand up comedians that flock to the city each summer, so many that it can be near on impossible to choose. You have your big names, established and most likely seen on our television screens, and the new talent just starting to make a name for themselves looking up to those big names with admiration. Then somewhere in the middle you have the names that some know and some don’t necessarily. And, for me, Larry Dean sat comfortably in that zone. The name rang a bell, and upon being reminded that he know appears on SNL UK I recalled seeing some sketches online and enjoying them greatly.  So when an opportunity arose to catch one of Larry Dean’s late night shows in the Pleasance One, I jumped at it, and it might just be one of the best decisions I made throughout my whole time at the fringe this year.

Larry Dean, known for his impressions, intense facials, quirky movements and comical observations brings Hellbent to the fringe, describing himself as recently married, emotionally feral. Through a series of anecdotes, callbacks and some crowd work, Dean explores the blended cultures of his family, how his strong Glaswegian accent is misunderstood as he travels, learning about himself and most importantly his relationship with his partner. And it is just ridiculously funny.

Fizzing with boundless energy (you wouldn’t think it was 11 o clock at night), Dean is instantly likeable creating an effortless sense of talking and laughing with friends, making off the cuff jokes, rather than presenting a rehearsed speech to a gathered audience. He bounces from story to story, delighting with tales of meeting the King at the Royal Variety Show where he may or may not have been mistaken for being in the cast of Oliver and how Edinburgh is the ‘cage to keep tourists safe’ from other areas of Scotland, linking stories together seamlessly with a cleverly continuous thread.

It is this thread that not only ties the show together but gives it a bold and beautiful heart because what Dean is able to do is keep the laughter coming whilst weaving in and often referring back to one main story for here Dean, instead of observing others, truly observes himself and his own development. And he does this by telling the deeply personal and heartfelt story of meeting, proposing to and marrying his partner Mikey. He jokes about Mikey’s thick Black Country accent with real care, talks about finding that right place to pop the question, how Mikey helped him seek an autism diagnosis, and explores how past relationships gave him this underlying fear of not being worthy. There are some truly touching moments, referencing the importance of the date on which he proposed and finally reaching a point in life where one can cry with joy. Underneath the laughter, the impressions, the silliness is this beautiful story, charmingly told.

Larry Dean: Hellbent is one of those shows that caught me by surprise, jumped out of the blue and wowed me. I found myself laughing out loud from start to end whilst being moved by a story of love, happiness and finding that person who makes you feel most comfortable. Tickets flew, but Dean does up an upcoming tour so I would really recommend that you grab some tickets as soon as possible.