THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
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Edinburgh Fringe
Christian Finnegan: My Goodness!
Reviewed by Olivia McLaren
Photo by Mindy Tucker
Tickets
With a youthful visage and an approachable manner, 45-year-old Christian Finnegan is a juxtaposition of nonsense and self-awareness that is very appealing. I spent a thoroughly enjoyable hour in the Billiards Room at the Gilded Balloon – Teviot earlier this week, listening to him reflect on what it means to be a good person. Actually, it was more about his quantifiable deficiencies on the goodness scale (because it wouldn't be funny otherwise). Are you a righteous person if you engage in complex maneuvers to avoid high street charity campaigners? Are you truly 'woke' if you don't like protest marches? What if you don't get out of bed until 10.30? I surely don't know.
By way of background, Christian is an American comedian and actor you may recognize from VH1's 'Best Week Ever' or as Chad in Chappelle's Show's 'Mad Real World' sketch.' He was Martin in the sitcom 'Are We There Yet' and has appeared on 'Countdown with Keith Olbermann.' He also created and co-hosted A&E's popular 'Black and White' program, a talk show about race relations. He has been doing stand-up for years, and this show may be a run up to a bigger project back in the USA.
Christian's is not a physical type of comedy, nor is it akin to Brit-wit; it's brash, open, American-style humor. It's not all fun-and-games though, as there are moments where he seems genuinely vulnerable, and those moments resonate long after he leaves the stage. All that said, I highly recommend this show.
