Markus Birdman: Dreaming

115270 original

Against a backdrop of whimsical doodles, set to a live guitar backing track and interspersed with jaunty vinyl songs detailing the title of each section, Markus Birdman delivers a perfectly listenable, if formulaic, hour. His fast pace, affecting subject matter (he's battled with numerous serious health problems) and good rapport with the ample audience make for an hour that's nice to watch, but predictable.

He's capable of firing off some wonderfully pithy one-liners when you least expect it, but the majority of his standup is fairly straightforward. In fact, it renders the kooky backdrop, flip chart and vinyl somewhat at odds with the actual gags. The guitarist is utterly superfluous. More bizarrely, despite his efforts to impose a regimented format, the act of pausing between sections and flipping a chart to reveal the title before playing the vinyl disrupts the flow.

It also highlights what is essentially a fragmented, meandering set that actually lacks structure, regardless of his best efforts to conceal the fact. One minute he's talking about growing up, getting old and parenting; the next he's explaining why he's not that into televised comedy. He skips around, often without convincing segues.

The material itself is sometimes engaging, peppered with his seemingly favourite phrase, "go fuck yourself", which when used sparingly is really rather funny. There are moments of promise where his material dips into the unexpected, but Birdman relies too heavily on such well-worn territory as turning 40 and knob gags which, ultimately, fail to pack a punch.