Hal Cruttenden: Can Dish It Out But Can’t Take It (Pleasance Courtyard) | Review by Sam Eastop

Hal balances light and dark very well. As he says of himself, he can be quite “nasty” on stage, but it’s always with a twinkle in the eye and a tongue in cheek. Hal is back at the Edinburgh Fringe to delve into topics like middle-age dating, parenthood, divorce, insane modern politics and social media. With a sharp and oft very accurate observational stance on modern society.

4 years on from a divorce that he’s definitely, totally moved on from, Cruttenden uses the same topic he utilised when I last saw him at the Edinburgh fringe but makes it feel fresh and delves into aspects different from before. 

Hal lets the audience into some deep and emotional places but always manages to get a laugh, relating well with the audience and bringing them onside early, he makes the crowd feel like part of every story he tells. He uses physicality and picture perfect facial expression to emphasise jokes and somehow manages to hide approaching punchlines, making them land with extra effectiveness. 

Cruttenden weaves his jokes around some very real, frightening and incredibly important topics that are extra relevant to right now, making his stance on certain things clear while poking fun at the absurdness of them and never lingering too long dour topics that the audience have come to see him to forget about. 

Seeing Cruttenden in a smaller, more intimate venue at the Edinburgh fringe is seeing Cruttenden at his best. He involves not just the typical-to-a-stand-up front row, but the rows behind that as well, searching and gathering until he finds what he needs, or gets talking to an audience member whom ends up getting applause from off-hand one liners. This in itself is an excellent addition to the show, demonstrating Cruttenden knows to use the general admission-paying public to his strength. 

With extra dates added, Hal is one to catch each year at the fringe, and audiences should be grateful that he keeps coming back again and again to give us more side-splitting laughs.

https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/hal-cruttenden-can-dish-it-out-cant-take-it