Reviews

Bo Burnham: Words, Words, Words

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15 August 2010

Pleasance Dome
4-29 August, 21.35

‘My ex-girlfriend used to have a fetish where she dressed up as herself and behaved like a complete bitch all the time.’ Simple but blisteringly sharp this is only one of the insights from the desperately cool world of Bo Burnham, a 19 year old prodigy (his words) of the You Tube generation.

Like a Dadaist poet, Burnham’s understanding of the potential alchemy of random association is inspired. Words, Words, Words incorporates Songs, glitter, Haiku, triangles, dog jokes, torn newspapers, sardonic silences; each moment is tightly choreographed whilst giving the sense of free falling through Burnham’s subconscious. With pitch perfect deadpan delivery he’s not afraid to face awkwardness as well as laughs which adds an edgier performance art feel to his set.

For all this his tools are fairly traditional. A series of comedic songs and punchy one-liners, he’s working within conventional structures. It’s all the more wonderful then that he’s creating something so unique from them.

– Honour Bayes