Hal Cruttenden, a regular feature on the UK comedy circuit, returns with his new show centred around his recent divorce which is currently touring the UK. I saw posters for Cruttenden’s show around Edinburgh during last year’s Fringe and was very close to buying tickets but didn’t end up going. It was for this reason that I was so excited to get another chance to see it.
This show walks a number of fine lines with ease. For example, ample audience interaction meant that the show never felt over-scripted or over-rehearsed, but it was also always apparent that Cruttenden was decidedly in charge of the narrative. Tangents that seemed off-the-cuff at the time ended up being worked seamlessly into overarching throughlines, giving a sense of both spontaneity and well-thought-out craft. Cruttenden undeniably knows how to work an audience to get exactly what he wants out of them so they can get him where he needs to go.
Also impressive is that this show is able to nicely walk the line between presenting divorce as difficult without coming across as whiny. My main concern going into this show was that it was going to be an ‘I hate my wife’ show that was just going to consist of Cruttenden complaining about petty things for ~90 minutes. It absolutely doesn’t fall into this trap. It doesn’t sugarcoat the issues being dealt with, but also doesn’t wring all of its comedy out of complaining.
Something I particularly appreciated regarding both audience interaction and the content of the show was that, at least based on my interpretation of the age demographics in the room, I was decidedly in the minority being 23. I’ve also never been engaged, married or divorced so don’t have any particular link to the material covered in the show. However, none of these factors stopped me having a great time – Cruttenden presents the material in an accessible way that I think would be enjoyable to anyone regardless of age or marital status.
I did feel like towards the end of the show, Cruttenden was dealing with a few too many take-home messages which made it feel a tad messy. However, I had a really great time at this show and would highly recommend it to anyone.
Hal continues his extensive UK tour until 19th July and tickets can be found at https://www.halcruttenden.com/ for all remaining dates.
Reviewer: Ella Catherall
Reviewed: 17th April 2023
North West End UK Rating: ★★★★