EdFringe Review: Alex Prescot: Cosy

If I were to speak of Alex Prescot’s Cosy to others, I would say, “No notes, just go!” However, that would make a rotten article, so I’ll indulge in a few more details.

First off, I don’t think many comedians like their audience quite as much as Alex. I reckon he would happily chat away for the entire hour, just finding out fun things about them, whilst idly conjuring tunes from his keyboard.

Pleasant as that would be, he does have a show, and it’s a great one. According to Alex, the show should have been a two-hander, but his partner Nick, dropped out and went to Australia instead. So here is, in Edinburgh, on his lonesome, and on the lookout for a replacement. Maybe it’s you?!

Now, people talk about Golden Retriever energy a lot, but there’s a solid chance you’ll find a picture of Alex next to the definition in any reputable dictionary. What a ball of musical sunshine he is!

He spends the his Cosy hour doing three things: post-morteming Nick’s departure, making songs up based on audience contributions, and throwing pillows at people with surprising accuracy.

Cue some amusingly bitter observations on everything that’s wrong with Australia, including it being an ‘impractical commute’, along with nostalgic anecdotes of their life-long friendship and ups and downs in the comedy business. He’s brought some photos and the odd daft Powerpoint slide to illustrate all of the above.

“Now, people talk about Golden Retriever energy a lot, but there’s a solid chance you’ll find a picture of Alex next to the definition in any reputable dictionary. What a ball of musical sunshine he is!“

So far, so nice, but it’s when Alex stats making up songs based on audience work that the magic really happens. It’s surprising what folks will reveal to that beaming smile and ‘butter wouldn’t melt’ expression.

It’s also surprising just how cheeky and filter-free Alex can be when he’s giving it big from behind the keyboard. Fearless is the word! It’s hard enough to create lyrics on the spot, but to make them that funny and well-time is downright impressive. I’m sure he has an internal library of phrasing and melody to draw upon, but he makes it look super easy.

He also has a couple of pre-written songs in his arsenal, the best of which is probably a melancholy take on watching the neighbours from his parents’ house windows.

There are a couple of elements he could tighten up, all the same. One is a little bit of scripted audience work which ends a little softly after a promising build-up. The other would be to avoid getting sucked into convoluted contributions from the audience which won’t make the best material for his next extemporised tune.

Of course, both of these are side-effects of being such a lovely chap! Indeed, if being a ‘lovely chap’ is a super power, Alex Prescot needs to get himself some spandex and a cape.

Tuneful, impressive, and very, very Cosy, Alex Prescot might be down a partner, but he’s playing a blinder all on his own.