★ ★ ★
Autistic Licence is truly a one-man-show, with Lynam operating sound whilst making us laugh. The framing device of Lynam talking directly to his anxiety was brilliant and reflected the many conversations I’ve had with my own irrational thoughts.
Like all good stand-up, Lynam’s show tackles a wide range of topics from discovering his sexuality to writing a letter to George Bush, all with charm and wit. Lynam does a good job of walking the line between jokes for everyone and jokes for autistic people, though at times there seems to be some honest insecurity in his jokes, which is entirely undeserved as he is genuinely wonderful.
A large section of the show is dedicated to the history of autism as a diagnosis, tracing it from Hans Aspergers to the DSM V, and though this was thoroughly informative, the jokes were sprinkled a bit sparsely throughout the section, and I was left distracted trying to read the German on the documents in the presentation. His discussion on the development of ABA therapy and its effects since were particularly enlightening and funny, giving me a new hand signal for asking: “Is he, you know *hand flaps/loud hands*”.
In general I find Lynam is stronger and funnier when talking about his own life and experiences, and it really felt like we were just scratching the surface of the topic, as towards the end of the show we see a more open and vulnerable side of him.
Overall, Lynam’s show is a wonderful, wholesome and witty look at being autistic, which truly tickled me. I would strongly recommend to anyone, autistic or not, to go watch him to Patter Hoose, and to watch out for where he goes, because I’m sure it will be somewhere big!
Review by Tom Chandler
Ian Lynam: Autistic License Gilded Balloon – Patter Hoose – Snug 15:00 (1hr) Aug 3 – 15, 17 -22, 24 – 28 £10/9
