2015LUKEWRI_UC

Dandy; a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of Self.

Luke Wright, has a distinct relationship to the characteristics of your ‘average’ dandy. Physical appearance? Suitably eccentric, fabulous coat and wonderful eye-liner. Refined Language? Distinctively so, Wright moulds words into poetry with effortless skill. Leisurely hobbies? Well, he delivers his children to school and drinks free samples of port. Hm.

Wright’s one man show is a monologue of poetry and humour. Drawing from his less-than-Byron-esque life, he makes suburbia seem romantic and the school playground a wealthy subject of emotional inspiration. Wright can go from hand quiveringly intense to jolly in an almost frighteningly short period of time. His show is a lovely mixture of past and present; he relates the experience of parenthood playing the role of both father and son. Wright is a natural performer, who crafts his shows with the fine hand of an artist yet still manages to leave room for spontaneous hilarity.

Wright’s spoken word style is traditional and melodic, but his subject matter current. How anyone can make the mundane county of Suffolk the subject of an art form is a testament to the human imagination. Wright is like a stranded fictional character, an old-school poet lost somewhere between the A12 and the aisles of B&Q. Wright’s poems are about the odd bits of life, the boring and everyday – he draws the beauty out of them skilfully and with a burning intensity that is at times too potent. A furious performer, Wright convulses whilst discussing the bloke at the local off-license before switching back to humble joviality. He makes poetry something that can be shared, rids it of its pretensions and brings it back down to normality – well as normal as a father wearing eyeliner with a pocket watch reciting poetry on a Saturday night can be. Wright isn’t much of a dandy (did I mention he lives in Bungay?) for he is far too likeable.

Luke Wright: Stay-at-Home Dandy plays at Underbelly until August 30 as part of  the Edinburgh Fringe. For more information, visit the festival website.