Book Fight a few pages short
COMEDY
Adam Peter Scott's Book Fight
1.5 stars
Rectangle Room, Midlandia
Noodle Palace - The Ken Dome
REVIEW: KENT ACOTT
A good idea is one thing. Turning a good idea into something tangible is quite another.
And it is that leap that proves too much for Adam Peter Scott and this interesting book-related concept. There are just too many flat moments in a show that is too spontaneous and too reliant on the comedic aptitudes of its four special guests.
The idea is clever. Each night has a different literature theme. This particular night it was Harry Potter. Four guests - usually performers and comedians from other Fringe World shows - join Scott on stage to discuss their favourite books. Scott then asks them questions about those books and about Harry Potter. In the end, someone wins and someone loses.
Scott relies, almost totally, on his guests to generate the humour. On Harry Potter night, two of the guests added very little. They were dull. Under such circumstances, you would expect Scott to have some fall-back routines. But there was nothing. It felt laboured and uninspiring.
Maybe, on other nights, the guests will be more engaged and funnier. You might be lucky. But it is very hit and miss.
The set - a couple of student desks with microphones - was unimaginative and reinforced the distinct impression that the show was thrown together at the last minute.
Adam Peter Scott's Book Fight runs until February 16 at the Noodle Palace
