★★★★★
Dom McGovern’s Prize Hog is an exceptional debut about eating disorders, queerness, and our lord and saviour Kate Moss.
McGovern has an electric stage presence and has managed to find the ideal balance between inviting the audience to laugh at and with him. He is not above us, he is us, and, through him, we are allowed to enjoy our flaws. He does not coast on his charisma, however. He could have made a perfectly enjoyable show based on vibes alone but McGovern’s joke-writing is first class and not a word is wasted.
Personally, I adored his routine on men’s mental health. I want that particular bit to be a book. I want it to be essential reading. I want a clip of it preloaded on my phone at all times so that I can force people (men) to watch it when they monologue at me about how important [insert name of famous athlete cum mental health activist here]’s work is.
Throughout the show, McGovern tugs at the gender stereotypes around disordered eating and diet culture, exploring themes of catholic guilt and adolescence, throwing out pithy lines that feel both flippant and earnest all at once.
I left the show excited for his work but also excited for stand up comedy. Often, stand up as a medium necessitates oversimplification. It requires comics to distill the world down, to cram it into the very rigid structure of a set up and punchline. But a truly great joke can contain multitudes. A truly great joke crams the disconnect between the hyperbole of its language and the reality of its subject matter with all the nuance that a topic like the men’s mental health industrial complex deserves. Prize Hog is filled with truly great jokes.
Dom McGovern: Prize Hog is on at Bunker One at Pleasance Courtyard until August 30th
