King of the geeks claims his crown

Hot property: Demetri Martin can justly claim to be king of the geeks
10 April 2012

Edinburgh is the place where the big deals are done, but the smartest cookies do them before the start. John Oliver had to cut his entire Fringe run after being signed up by American TV's The Daily Show, Russell Kane started late because of LA commitments. And Demetri Martin missed a week because he's hot Hollywood property, but it was worth the wait.

Since winning the 2003 Perrier Award, this boyish American has been honing his cute, goofy genius persona. At 33 and sporting an impressively nerdy mop-top, Martin can justly claim to be king of the geeks. This all-new show is presented as a mock self-therapy session, introduced by the shadowy Dr Parrot of the Institute for Advanced Personhood.

Parrot has diagnosed Martin as suffering from Brain Nook, a condition which causes part of his mind to float away. Our hero takes us on a journey to this strange land, passing Procrasti Nation where the Unfinnish People live and into his Forest of Jokes, which is a convenient cue for some Zen-like oneliners such as "How fast does a zebra have to run before it looks grey?"

As with previous Martin monologues, the stand-up format is cannily subverted. His songs are so-so, but there are inventive palindromes, primitive cartoons redolent of David Shrigley and photos of our guide in less cool, bighaired days. The result is front-loaded with indulgence and disingenuous narcissism, but Martin is one of the few comedians skilful enough to pull it off.

Until 28 August. Information: 0870 745 3083

Demetri Martin
Udderbelly, Edinburgh

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