★★★★
When disabled comedy acts are promoted, the media will often lead with the disability, not the comedy. Aidan Greene explains that when he’s interviewed, he’s a ‘human interest story’ not a stand-up. The same battle for being seen on his own terms is how Greene shapes this razor-sharp hour. The jokes are clever, pointed and with an edge of political anger.
There are wonderful personal asides, including old home video footage of his school production of Cinderella, which he pushed himself into the role of Prince Charming for. The references to childhood and his self-confidence make for a basis of upending the preconceived notions audiences can have of Greene. There’s genuine frustration at the definitions of ‘inspirational’, the cocked heads going ‘awwww’. Yet, Greene doesn’t lecture the audience nor excuse their prejudice. He refuses to be self-deprecating, or go for easy laughs.
Greene showcases his honed, skilled stand-up whilst simultaneously rejecting the idea that his stammer doesn’t define him. It’s up to each of us how we decide to define ourselves. Greene closes the show with a beautiful story about a young person with a stammer who came to his show, and how the questions they asked, made Greene reassess how he sees himself. “My stammer is like a musical instrument”, combining the unpredictability of his stammer with his comic timing, creates a unique structure to his set, of which he is very much a virtuoso.
Aidan Greene: Stuttermilk Pancakes is on at Dexter at Underbelly, Bristo Square until August 31st
