Justin Matson: Fatter Than You Think

An endearing, funny show with lots of potential

Justin Matson: Fatter Than You Think

Matson is an instantly likeable and personable character, for whom I was rooting from the very beginning. Despite having a very small audience, Matson performed the show wholeheartedly, and was able to create an intimate connection with his few spectators through the deeply personal and emotional stories he told in a humorous and self-deprecating manner. 

The subject matter of the show is mainly Matson’s struggles with his weight, although his sexuality and work life also feature frequently. He is blunt and open from the beginning, discussing his fight with anorexia and constant body image issues through hilarious tales of the times he’s been kicked of rollercoasters and how life has been different for him, as a fat person, than it has been for his skinny friends. Often it feels like you shouldn’t laugh at the stories he tells, but he wants you to; actively encourages you to, in fact, and every laugh is with him, never at him. 

When he is speaking about these topics Matson is a natural performer, with excellent comedic timing and a very quiet, yet somehow enthralling, manner of speaking. At various times throughout the show, however, he gets strangely sidetracked, and his jar of random one-liners is sadly misplaced; few of the jokes were funny, or even real one-liners, and seemed out of place. They are much weaker than his longer narratives, which are much more amusing and interesting. 

I laughed out loud often during the show, and even when I wasn’t laughing I had a big smile on my face. It can sound very patronising to describe someone as ‘brave’ for standing on stage and telling complete strangers intimate and personal details about their lives, but I find I have to commend his courage - as someone who has struggled with body image issues myself, I cannot imagine doing what he is. The show isn’t perfect, but it’s definitely enjoyable, and worth a watch.

Author

Sam Nead

Sam Nead Contributor

I am a 22 year old student who loves reading, writing and all things theatre-related. I am studying Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences at Birmingham University and I'm trying to write a novel, but not doing very well at it!

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1 Comments

  • Luke Taylor

    On 23 February 2018, 10:12 Luke Taylor Contributor commented:

    It's really clever how comedians can take such serious topics and degrade to the point of laughter - I suppose it's a way of not letting that stuff get to us

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