Wander through the Theatre and Circus fields and you might come across Dado, everyone’s favourite Hunchback. His clowning and physical and non-verbal stand-up comedy have won him awards across the world, although today there are verbal aspects to his comedy too.
Dado is appropriately suggestive for a family show – similar to the way in which modern Pixar films hide the adult jokes within plain sight, so too does Dado. This is also appropriate because, for the main portion of his performance, Dado resembles something of a cartoon villain – specifically Gru from the Minions films with his high shoulders and long black coat.
He even incorporates the music of movie production companies into his set – all that’s missing is the lion’s roar. At his best, Dado knows how to hold and work an audience – vital when performing in the middle of a field with the crowd churning around. His set starts with only a handful of people but ends with a reasonable crowd. And when one viewer leaves, he uses their departure for great comic effect.
But it doesn’t all land. A joke about a child’s name feels like a crossed line – even if the joke is aimed at the parents and not the child, it’s their name after all, and there is a limit to the number of chicken-swallowing-an-egg/ping-pong-ball visual jokes the audience can take. But, for the most part, this is easy family comedy for a relaxed afternoon.
Dado is in Glebeland at Glastonbury Festival from Wednesday 21 to Friday 25 June.
