Image: Brighton Fringe
Rising star of the comedy circuit, Rory Marshall, has built a name for himself, predominantly online, drawing on contemporary culture to make razor-sharp, satirical character studies of the strange and nuanced folk that many of us run into in our day to day lives.
Rather than pivot into new comedic territory, Marshall has stuck with what he knows best in his debut show, ‘Pathetic Little Characters’. The show is billed as a “work in progress” and one might suspect that he’ll keep this tag running as an on-the-nose joke in and of itself. The show, as the name suggests, is built on characters, and while each iteration of character in the show has similarities in their abject pathetic-ness, Marshall brings enough creativity to each to keep his audience entertained and, most importantly, laughing throughout the duration of his 60-minute set.
From inept charity salesmen with parent complexes, to naval-gazing murder detectives, to confidence coaches, Marshall brings fresh, perplexing, and downright bizarre energy to a niche of comedy that is in dire need of a shake up. Thankfully, Rory Marshall is at the forefront of a contemporary character-comedy revival.
His show at this year’s Brighton Fringe, performed at The Caxton Arms, is, staggeringly, only his seventh, and with shows lined up at Edinburgh Fringe and a spotlight in Time Out magazine under his belt, Marshall is already displaying the confidence and swagger of a comedy veteran.
Formely a Brighton local and now residing in London, Marshall can be found frequently performing on the local stand-up scene, so if you get the chance to catch him on a small stage in the near future, grab it with both hands. This is a comedian on a stratospheric rise, and shows as good as ‘Pathetic Little Characters’ only serve to further prove the point.
Brighton Fringe: Tickets
