One of the great things about Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival is that if you are in the right place at the right time, you can unearth a little gem, experience it with an appreciative audience and then it’s yours to keep and share with the people who were lucky enough to have been there. I’ve had a few experiences like this, and Citizen 598’s Man is now one of them.
Citizen 598 is Dan Edwards and Nathan Human, two writers/performers from Leicester who tell stories through theatre and film. Man is a cathartic journey for them, as they stand before an audience and discuss what it is that has shaped them as people – from conception (to the sounds of Lionel Richie), to the first pint at the The Trumpet as a shy, awkward 17-year-old, and right up until the present day, where being a 34-year-old man means being a grown up with responsibilities.
It was 60 minutes of shared experience, experiences that most men could relate to, even if they would not care to admit it. There were times when members of the audience were looking through their hands in embarrassment, other times when they were turning to their wives and girlfriends next to them with a look that screamed: “Yeah, I’ve done that…”
The delivery was excellent: a mix of Morecambe and Wise, Reeves and Mortimer and a hint of Ricky Gervais, but in a voice that was undoubtably their own, and always in a down-to-earth, friendly manner that felt like you were being sat down and told a story by two of your friends. This is extremely hard to pull off, but the guys did it with aplomb.
The show hit its stride from the start, covering everything from beards to heroes, and the finale is one of the best pieces of comedic storytelling I’ve seen in years, mixing hilarity, pathos, social awkwardness and great dancing to perfection. Any male adult who has ever had a great friend, and had a moment in their life that captured the meaning of friendship would be crying with laughter at Man’s finale.
I walked out of the Curve theatre laughing my head off, then I thought back to my misspent youth and those embarrassing shenanigans and I realised that the Citizen 598 guys had invented a time capsule to those days and experiences that are universal to all men, regardless of age or location.
It was at the moment of realisation that the fan in me started to battle with the writer in me. I turned to my girlfriend and said: “Screw those guys! Screw those guys for being so good!”
You can still catch Citizen 598’s MAN at the following venues:
Thursday 22nd March
The Brindley, Runcorn
7:30pm
Tel: 0116 2423595
Thursday 29th March
Old Joint Stock Theatre, Birmingham
8:00pm
Tel: 0116 2423595
Friday May 25th
The Guildhall, Derby
7:30pm
Tel: 0116 2423595
For more info on the show, visit the website here.
