Review: Alfie Brown: Sensitive Man

Alfie Brown, photo by James Deacon

Sensitive Man begins with Alfie Brown telling us how, in January 2020, his partner expressed her 'biological imperative' to have a third child: if Brown agrees to a baby he can satisfy his own biological imperative – wanting to fuck around like a big-balled Tom cat – while touring on another continent. 

Brown kept his end of the bargain, but the pandemic meant he never fulfilled his raging lust away from home. The bedroom farce this show could've been is instead a thoughtful, assured hour of stand-up about the narrowing possibilities that come with ageing and the start of the body's decay. 

Fans of Stewart Lee's book How I Escaped My Certain Fate will enjoy Sensitive Man for Brown's inclusion of footnotes and commentary on each routine. He makes this technique his own. It adds extra laughs and helps him position his voice as a Doubting Thomas.

He demonstrates his perceptive mind when it comes to reading the room – both the one he's in and the cultural context. Especially acute are his observations about mental illness. What does his diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder really amount too? How does a once hyperactive kid process the rise in Adult ADHD diagnoses? This segues onto comedians with feet-of-clay and remaining friends with pals who hold dumb viewpoints. The downside to all these layers is that the show lacks a bit of pep and, tonight, Brown runs short of time. We all wish we had more.