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Chris Martin: No, Not That One
Live Review

Chris Martin comes out on stage to a riff that puts me in mind of Prodigy – is this an omen? I'm certainly wondering whether his debut Fringe show will signify the arrival of a new young star.

Already with a decent pedigree of multi-bill Edinburgh shows since 2006, the slickness and confidence of this comic is the first thing that strikes you, other than the name of course.

Charming and good looking (despite once being described as ‘an uglier version of Jenson Button’) Martin could indeed have it all. He has the qualities of a less screechy Jack Whitehall and a happier Andrew Lawrence, a comic who occasionally sounds like if he is slipping in to character mode.

For the most part, though, Martin sounds like a nice middle-class young man whose friends occasionally exhibit a WKD side. There's a gag about feeding a cake with nuts in to someone with a nut allergy for example. Jolly japes eh?

It's not that Martin is following the crowd, though, and he's disparaging of the ridiculous habit of ‘minesweeping’, drinking leftover drinks. He extends the analogy to contain other bad habits within other computer games, duly making the whole thing quite ridiculous.

There are times when analogies are over-stretched and while some of his asides are instinctive they don't always make sense or aren't that well suited to the context. ‘I was so excited my dick nearly fell off its hinges,’ was his reaction on seeing an Asian man who was his father's double.

Add to that the unfortunate habit of commenting on the success or failure of jokes – ‘That was a lot funnier than you guys gave it credit for’. He's not the worst offender and it's not fair to hold him up for the ills of the a generation of spunky young comics but forget yourselves at your peril we, the audience, will be the judge of the line between success and failure. You can edit in your own time.

Despite the over-reaching and over-confidence, Martin looks to me like a late-stage prototype of the genuine article.

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Saw him twice recently, 2-3 months in between gigs. Exactly the same material both times, word for word and it wasn't even funny the first time I'm afraid. Nice enough guy and the podcast is good (carried by Carl) but as a stand-up, he is too safe and his material is weak.

Steve, May 2011

I have seen this comic at the last two fringes, he was brilliant both times. I can't wait to see this years show!

James, April 2011

Chris Martin is awesome. He cracks me up. I've seen him three times now.

Helen, August 2010

Re: The Comedy Tree in Wimbledon. I was also at that gig and the below comment is completely inaccurate. Chris was a great compere and in relation to finding out one of the female audience members was gay was anything but thrown. He then made a nice off-the-cuff comment about referring to your other half as a ”partner” and the potential for having a partner in crime. Great gig.

Riley, January 2010

A fantastic comedian; charming, witty and intelligent, he is sprinting towards the top at breakneck speed.

Tom, November 2009

He has learnt the ropes of being a comedian and looks and sound like a very slick presenter but he lacks any wit at all. He is just not funny. but very "nice"

Tom Wyatt, November 2009

Saw him at The Comedy Tree in Wimbledon. An OK compere but was completely thrown off when he asked a member of the audience a question and found out she was gay. He literally went blank and moved on to someone else. Was uncomfortable to watch. Come on it's 2009!?!

Tammy, November 2009

A pragmatic air without being two haughty or arragont with it, Chris brings a lightness of touch to his routine knowing the material is strong enough to ensure strong laughs throughout his time on stage.It's worth noting his mainstream appeal beyond the Student Gig Clique many would limit him to.

Rob Deb, January 2008

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