EDINBURGH 2014 - BWW Reviews: EDDIE PEPITONE: RIP AMERICA, IT'S BEEN FUN, Pleasance Courtyard, August 13 2014

Eddie Pepitone lost me fairly early on in the set. His initial joke of getting the audience to applaud for statements they agree with went on for far too long (although he does recognise this). He discusses how his show is about the downfall of America whereas the other Edinburgh Fringe shows he's seen, judging from the posters, are just silly. He names specific comedians who he seems to have very little regard for and it just comes across as tacky to be slating the competition.

He starts to discuss American attitudes to war, income inequality and his delivery is aggressive and when he tries to make a point he essentially just screams at the audience. While there are some valid points, he doesn't delve into any of them in any kind of depth.

There are numerous references to the fact that a lot of people in the audience aren't laughing. While there are some big laughs, there are also a lot of uncomfortable faces. He acknowledges that he gets a mixed response when he does a show. I didn't find his material particularly offensive, I just didn't think it was funny. While there are a lot of shows at the Edinburgh Fringe that are not to my taste, I thought it was unfair of him to dismiss other performances as unimportant when in reality Pepitone's show is not as hard hitting as he seems to think it is.

Eddie Pepitone: RIP America, It's Been Fun runs at Pleasance Courtyard until August 24th.

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