★★★
There’s that quote by George Bernard Shaw “The U.K and America are two countries separated by a common language”, well he said England, but I’m paraphrasing. I’m always mesmerised at how confident U.S stand-ups are. After a slew of self-deprecating introverted hours at the fringe, to see someone loud, brash and unapologetic is refreshing.
Morrison leads with a heavily autobiographical set that he links to animal behaviour. Inspired by his obsession with duck genitals, he unpacks growing up gay in a Republican Jewish household. How he fell for his Rabbi, and his awakening that he fancied ‘fat, old men’.
Sam’s delivery is fast and animated. He struts about the stage half frat-boy, half drag race. There is an intensity to his performance that bordered into the intimidating. Between the fireworks of his performance, there are many moments of heart. Sam talks about losing his husband during Covid, the birth of his niece and how his ADHD causes his brain to never stop thinking. In those moments Sam showed a vulnerability that was emotional and real.
There’s a disjointed nature to Sam’s set. Presented in sections, I felt the earlier parts were harder to connect to. Sam Morrison is a talent to be reckoned with, and in the age of Tik-Tok clips, his comedy finds a large audience, yet an hour long show is a very different animal, and one that requires specific development.
Sam Morrison: DUCK is on at Billiard Room at Gilded Balloon Teviot until August 31st
