Robin Ince Is As Dumb As You Are, Pleasance, Edinburgh

Julian Hall
Tuesday 16 August 2005 00:00 BST
Comments

Like Milhouse, Ince is a clever clogs, but disarming with it. However, Ince is worried that he has perhaps become less clever as he has got older. The blame for this, he says, lies at the door of charlatanism and sensationalist journalism which have encouraged "more stupid people to believe that they have the right to be heard", thus dumbing everyone down.

In the category of charlatanism his targets include spiritual mediums and homeopathy; he calculates that flu remedy, Oscillococcinum, would need a billion times the amount of water in existence to dilute the active ducks liver ingredient to the required proportion.

Ince debunks joyously, throwing his arms about in a manner between continental pontificator and Professor David Starkey. His set mirrors his racing and cluttered mind consisting of scattered papers and books. He plucks at them to back up his rants and take random pot-shots. There's a fictional quote for the Daily Mail columnist Simon Heffer: "I wish my wife could be more like Enoch Powell".

Robin Ince is a self-effacing man. There is every chance, however, that this show will go from strength to strength and bring him to a wider audience.

To 29 August (0131-556 6550)

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