Kae Kurd: Kurd Your Enthusiasm

Kae Kurd walked onto stage with much needed energy and attitude, the 5pm lull had hit Bunker Two hard at Pleasance Courtyard and we all seemed a little tired. The stand up comedian centred his show on identity and his experiences and struggles of such as a Kurdish refugee living and growing up in London. The information I gathered during the show was vast, not just in terms of social, political and historic facts surrounding different marginalised communities, but how Kae experiences his own sense of self, being a Kurd and therefore part of the largest ethnic group that does not 'belong' to a country.

The narratives Kurd wove together were both interesting and engaging, when timed correctly, they proved to be funny. From class and wealth to Peter Andre Kurd successfully segued through an array of contemporary and personal topics within the hour. However, as a comedy, I feel the show's primary intent – to make the audience laugh – wasn't as on point. Although its content was good and Kurd very eloquently raises some incredibly significant issues, it was obvious that the humours aspect was simply a vehicle for this and it didn't work. I really wanted it to be great, and it could've been. Entertaining? Yes. But in that room, for that hour, Kurd just wasn't very funny.

Kurd's comic timing was questionable - he looked nervously around the room as he failed to make enough of the audience genuinely laugh, occasionally even seeming to offend. Some of those watching did appear to be tickled however, and most looked entertained, just not quite on a level one would hope for having paid to see a stand up comic.

Whilst Kae Kurd is clearly a loveable, clever and, (I'm sure) funny bloke, I'm simply not as enthusiastic about his comedy. However, if you treat this as an informative, informal exchange about identity and sense of place, this is a very intelligent show.

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You can find out more about Kae Kurd: Kurd Your Enthusiasm on the Fringe website.