The rustic setting of the Blue Lamp bar’s lounge at 8.45pm on a Wednesday night might not be the first place you’d think you’d be laughing with total strangers…
But that’s exactly what happened when acclaimed stand-up Christopher Macarthur-Boyd brought his Oh No show to the Aberdeen International Comedy Festival.
As he opened his set, the comedian noted the peculiar starting time for a mid-week gig, before launching into anecdotes about his previous visits to the Granite City and Aberdeenshire.
Starting on how harsh the Doric accent can be for an outsider, Christopher gently poked fun at the local area, showing this was not his first time in the north-east. As he mentioned gigs in Peterhead and around Aberdeen, the audience quickly warmed to the West Coast funnyman.
Funnyman Chris bravely tackled Covid and mental health
That’s a good thing, as the rest of Boyd’s set felt just as much like a community participation event as it did a comedy show.
On top of the usual “Who are you? Where are you from?” style gags, Christopher quickly got very comfortable with the crowd.
He started discussions on whether Gousto is a better recipe subscription service than Hello Fresh and used a man in the front row’s phone to see how much time he had left on stage.
With this friendly sense of community building, Christopher regaled us with tales of a nighttime visit to Edinburgh Zoo for his and his girlfriend’s sixth anniversary and misunderstanding swear words as a child, making up his own meanings for them.
The main focus of Boyd’s show was a brave one for comedians to tackle, his experience during the Covid-19 pandemic and how it impacted his mental health.
Starting off in a more light-hearted vein, Christopher shared the relatable experience of becoming more reliant on Deliveroo as all of society seemed to grind to a halt.
Christopher had the Blue Lamp audience laughing along with him
Then the mood switched as he spoke about the effect not working had on him and his father, who is a hairdresser, and the touching conversation they had about not tying your self-worth to your job.
This fell into what Boyd affectionately referred to as “the sad bit of the show”, although he turned it back on himself later with a bit of self-chiding for not getting as many laughs at this part.
But that warm community feeling persisted as the audience laughed along with him. It was reassuring to see someone openly share their experiences, both negative and positive, even if they were wrapped up in the world of stand-up and punchlines.
It is clear why Christopher Macarthur-Boyd took home the Best Breakthrough Act at the 2019 Scottish Comedy Awards and why he is quickly becoming an Edinburgh Fringe favourite.
I for one cannot wait for him to grace the Granite City again, even if he only understands every other word we say.
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