Edinburgh Fringe 2015 review – Joseph Morpurgo: Uproarious spin on Desert Island Discs

Morpurgo's show, Soothing Sounds For Baby, is that rare thing, a high-concept, unashamedly arty production that also has entire rooms laughing, says Bruce Dessau

Bruce Dessau27 August 2015

It was no surprise that Joseph Morpurgo picked up a Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination yesterday. His show, Soothing Sounds For Baby, is that rare thing, a high-concept, unashamedly arty production that also has entire rooms laughing uproariously. The framing device is a fictitious Desert Island Discs interview with an unseen, cannily re-edited Kirsty Young. As Morpurgo — a distant cousin of Warhorse writer Michael — chooses each song he assumes different characters to tell a story populated by oddball eccentrics.

The highly inventive show soon spins off at truly bizarre tangents, gradually drawing the audience in with comical flights of fancy about forgotten funksters or obscure classical musicians. This is about as far as one can get from stand-up and still be eligible for the Foster’s prize. The energetic star is a true all-rounder, scuttling around the stage, switching accents and singing. You will not hear a finer rap about golf techniques this or any year.

Soothing Sounds For Baby is brilliantly conceived, brilliantly constructed and brilliantly performed. Another Fringe favourite, Tom Parry, has a jokily scripted ovation in his show. On numerous nights Morpurgo has received a spontaneous ovation.

He is clearly in with a strong chance of scooping the Edinburgh Comedy Award on Saturday. Though he might have to share it with Kirsty Young.