Words: Nat Chanse
Image: Trevor Paul

4 stars

This guy’s a pro – little surprise for someone who’s career includes accolades such as a sold-out run at 02 Shepherd’s Bush Empire and stints on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Jam-packed with content and delivered to an equally packed room at the Pleasance Attic, this hour-long set was a crowd-pleaser. 

The content focuses solely on his life; but when the source material spans the globe, guiding the audience from a small-town in Germany to Milan to China, there’s more than enough to pull from. With a seamless delivery and a never faltering-momentum, he doesn’t lose the audience on this tour of his international modelling career.

The show is marketed as a ‘darkly comic’ set – this is partly true. The content covers serious topics, including sexual assault, rape and substance abuse, but with a dominant tone of empathy and softness over humour. The comedy relies largely on the international skit. Don’t expect originality, but do expect razor-sharp delivery of cultural cliches of the passionate Italian, self-flagullatory German and LA-socialite. These jokes, although tired, elicit guaranteed laughter with not a yawn insight. This set sure packs a punch.

Mario Adrion: Live a Little
Attic at Pleasance Courtyard
20.30
5-30 Aug