Comedians seem increasingly reluctant to just go on stage and yap. There's so much multimedia at this year's festival, it should be sponsored by Dell.
Few acts, though, have taken things quite so far as Howard Read. For the past few years, he has been part of a virtual double act, performing opposite a cartoon version of himself at the age of six. Little Howard, as we're to call him, may only be an image on a screen, but he walks, talks and does everything flesh and blood can, except throw custard pies.
Things have come unstuck in the new show, however. Little Howard has caught Asian bird flu and is lying in a coma in the St Bart's Ward for Cartoon Children. "Our best chance of getting Little Howard out of it," Big Howard announces, "is laughter." After this appeal to our better natures, he begins a benefit show both for and with Little Howard, who was allegedy "recorded" before he fell ill. It relies heavily on Little H's childish charm and Big H's fear of being upstaged, plus some gee-whizz human-cartoon interaction. At one point Big H even takes a tissue and blows Little H's nose for him.
Little Howard turns out to have a lot of animated friends, including H-Bot 2000, "the funny robot from the future", a foul-mouthed Pudsey the Bear, a pigeon called Roger - and George Bush, who announces, to the audience's delight, "I don't mind people saying I'm dumb, because if they're saying I'm dumb they haven't realised I'm evil."
It's technically impressive, as is an interlude in which Little Howard, manipulated by Read, chats with the audience. Punter: "I'm an actor." Little Howard: "Which restaurant do you act in?" But the whole thing's rather baggy, and it feels as if more effort has gone into programming than into writing the script. Little Howard is also prone to a tiny but perceptible delay in his responses, which doesn't help with comic timing.
A damn good gimmick, but a gimmick none the less.
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