Review: Nate Kitch

A pretty good indication of Nate Kitch's niche appeal is that while he was playing to limited numbers on the afternoon I caught him, almost a quarter of those (technically) were repeat business, eager to see where his endlessly disassembling debut might end up on take two. A born contrarian with contempt for the safe and immediately appreciable, he's an inveterate deconstructer of the form, helping you see conventional stand-up's limitations anew. Opening with a fourth wall-dispensing entreaty to the crowd to help find an extension cable, the show literally takes place in and out of the room, with his restless metacommentary ongoing in concert with his tech, backstage, in the audience and most often, in the corridor outside, the door held ajar or otherwise. When he speculates about gatecrashing another comic's hour running concurrently, it hardly feels like a passing fancy but doesn't carry the bitterness of a threat, merely the spirit of exploration.