Intelligent, well-constructed observations on weddings, Japan and autism
Pierre Novellie’s sharp, incisive observations see him performing two distinct shows at this year’s Fringe: a best-of compilation, and Okay, One More Then Bedtime, which explores the wedding and Japanese honeymoon that bookended his packed tour schedule over the last year. By way of a visit to a Buddhist monk, Novellie asks whether it matters if your identity is shaped by your career, and whether he wants to be a workaholic all his life.
The real delight in seeing Novellie perform is his unique flair for analogy. He makes a compelling argument for long-haul flights being excellent rehearsals for being in an old people’s home; says the parakeet-infested tree outside his new home is like living in a Tarot card; and likens UK tourists in Japan to Hagrid in Versailles. New this year is the integration of interesting facts into his set: Novellie knows that stand-up audiences are trained to expect a joke, so he honks the horn at the start and end of the trivia to signal the lack of a punchline. This is the “horn of autism”, and Novellie discusses his experiences with the condition to open the hour, with hilarious results.
Aside from a massively successful stand-up tour, the big things to happen to Novellie over the last year have been getting married and going on honeymoon. It was a secular wedding, although not with a secular hymn because they’re too wet. Novellie observes that all celebrants look the same, and rejects a suggestion to avoid looking at his wife until she’s in full view because he doesn’t trust his face to tell the right story. They honeymoon in Japan, with Novellie convincing his wife to let him go off for a morning to spend time with a Buddhist monk (the topic of a current autistic special interest). The advice he gets is hardly mindblowing – a job is just a job, and we are the sparks of our own anger – but it prompts some genuine reflection on whether Novellie has been pushing too hard.
Extended stories are Novellie’s bread-and-butter, combining pinpoint observation with disarming whimsy. Here, he imagines a pest control expert possessed by the rat he was trying to catch, with British politeness getting in the way of doing anything about it. There’s a hotel room so cheap it contains a permanently lit fusebox pointing directly at the bed. And the funniest routine of the show explains why Novellie never sits in the quiet carriage on a train – revelling in autistic intolerance in a delightfully spiky bit.
Selfishly, I hope Novellie’s big revelations about taking work less seriously don’t take him away from the world of comedy. His is a distinctive voice in the stand-up landscape, and I will always make time for his intelligent observation and quiet rage that the world could be so much better.
Show Listing: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/pierre-novellie-okay-one-more-then-bedtime
LISTINGS INFORMATION:
Venue: Monkey Barrel 3
Dates: Aug 5th–29th
Time: 19:05 (60 mins)
Ticket prices: £17
Fringe box office: 0131 226 0000 / www.edfringe.com
Suitable for 14+