Craig Campbell's Thrilling Mic Hunt

• Laura Ennor
• 5 August 2013

This article is from 2013

Brilliant Canadian raconteur treats us to jovial observational anecdotes at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

‘Me falling off a log – you can’t get more Canadian than that,’ says Craig Campbell of an ill-fated sea kayaking trip, just one of many similarly cursed escapades he relates in a roundly entertaining hour of jovial observational anecdotes. And it’s true that he fits a certain stereotypical portrait of the rough-edged, outdoorsy, lumberjack character, burly and wild-haired and mildly derogatory of Americans.

A bear of a man with no hesitation in making himself look silly, Campbell is eminently likeable and an old master (he’s been coming to the Fringe – and accidentally offending Scots – since 1995) at building a rapport with the audience, managing to work crowd contributions seamlessly into a freewheeling narrative about all the injuries he’s sustained during various outdoor adventures. Totally unfazed by the random outbursts of a George Street weekend crowd, he brings the funny to these interactions in a kindly but pointed way hardly justified by their inebriated contributions.

When a man can talk about the discovery of his favourite cheese for quarter of an hour and keep you chuckling throughout, it’s clear his enthusiasm is infectious – Craig Campbell is that sort of raconteur and his Thrilling Mic Hunt a treat.

Assembly Rooms, 0844 693 3008, until 25 Aug (not 12), 8.45pm, £10 (£9)