Ivan Brackenbury - Hospital Radio Remix

Tom Binns burst on the Edinburgh scene as Ivan Brackenbury three years ago with a nomination for the then If.com Eddy Award and the following year put in a great show with a Christmas theme.  Last year he moved to the larger cabaret bar and seemed to coast, although he clearly tried to put more effort in his show with more elaborate props but it back-fired.  This year he returns with his original show, less his moustache which helped him appear "special" and has 'remixed' it to include the best gags from the subsequent two years (NB:  there was only one gag from last year he used!).  Aside from four good stand-alone gags and three 'quiz show' segments (which really killed the mood), Ivan re-works the one gag of setting up a scene verbally and then delivering the punchline through recognisable song lyrics.  This actually works really well and delivered properly it can be a riot.  in truth he is a pale version of the character who won our hearts two/three years ago, and if you haven't already caught Ivan then you'll probably chuckle throughout this show.  He performed almost transfixed behind his keyboard / laptop and frequently mis-judged the audience's reaction and tempo.   As he plugged his other show in the festival (Ian D. Montfort) he mentioned that this might be the last time he does Ivan.  Hopefully it is as without true commitment to the character and the passion he previously had, I don't really want Ivan to die and long painful death just to rake in money.  7 out of 10, aka 3 stars, but probably worth an 8 out of 10 if you've never seen him, but he is a shadow of what he once was.