CRAIG HILL
Hill pitches his tent in the wrong yard
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Daisey’s bone of contention
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, LAWRENCE my ~ MIKE DAISEY - 21 DOG YEARS LEUNG
a .' : ' Dotcomic outperforms the narrative .0. Pmeg pSYCh'CS to the test CC.
‘ o“ " ' ‘ n ' ' ‘f There's nothing particularly remarkable about the story behind 21 Dog Years. 80 Mike Daisey fell in love I ' ' ' " ‘ Y' "’ " " with the structured life of the dotcom industry and with the opportunities afforded someone who believes ’ t " in potential. 80 what? It’s not messy. it‘s not life-changing, but it is Daisey‘s storytelling methods which are ' '
{If/"H" ’ 'V ' ' " utterly captivating. Every word, every repetition, every gesticulation reverberates loudly around the small ‘ ' ' ' -' i '
:“fp "““ ' M room. He‘s the consummate performer, wildly transforming into his blinking manager Tina. and becoming ’ ' ' ' ' ° I . "~ . the Powerpoint pet-sales presentation. As a big guy - Who gleefully admits to sweating in Winter ' he pours - i ’ ‘ ‘ "‘~‘ " buckets of energy into his near biblical retelling of his customer service love affair with Amazon. '
" fl " ' Crucially, though. he must convincingly justify the romance. First there was the hygiene of the " ’ " ‘ V ' ‘ ‘ -‘ ‘ a ' employees. then the obsession with all-powerful Amazon boss Jeff, and, most importantly. the alluring f H i. t ' ' ' " ‘
power of shares. But it‘s not quite persuasive enough. Early on Daisey reveals his evil streak; his
willingness to deviate from the call-answering norm. Furthering his career by hanging up on callers, he ‘ " '
Folk parody was never makes it tolmanagement level, where an inbred. all-consuming deviance takes over. It doesn‘t complement H ' so cool .... the drone-like image he‘s portrayed and reqwres a suspensmn of belief which can't be ameliorated by -~ ’ I / . emphatic storytelling. ' i W" "‘ ‘3' ‘I " Still, 21 009 Years rings true on so many levels. ‘Everyone is involved in customer service at some level.‘ ' i' ‘ " ‘ ' ‘ r" " says Daisey. ‘How good does it feel to put your foot on someone else‘s neck?‘ Customer service is that ' ' ' 1 ' ' " 3' ' " receptacle. V ' "f' ' ' As a lesson in storytelling prowess. 21 Dog Years is textbook brilliance. As a comedy show it's thought- ’ g ‘ provoking, amusing and continually enchanting. It‘s just a pity that the story itself doesn‘t spark with the ’ ' ‘ M “"""“"~ 3"" same vivacity as Daisey. Now that‘s a show that would be worth investing in. (Maureen Ellis) " / ‘au'dnliu'huf‘: I .5 " " .' :" : ‘r' zip-"Vi. 1" I '2 ~. :‘ "l ii .1" ' -v z' " l..." "Huff ‘ , .l‘ 1.: i: " ' .' :".:-i, ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ' l ' ‘ " ' 1' ' ' 'i 2 it u it»: :. '~ " 2 i . 1' - l 'Ji it . . t » ' ~ 2 I H ’ i ' ' .‘i" " i" l‘ w: l" ’ :' :' ' ». ' " . " " A '\ l« " 'i I I} i t I r i - N l‘t'T.'."i""“..'Y‘t . ." " '.-.: " 1.: z a ' .'t’~i\.t‘fl..‘1..x Tl‘z- i.:"f"_} ' _- 1 ,-~ .. >,' " ;' ;' : :,' ;‘ "‘.ii‘ if», -.\‘, - .-. ,5 . , ;,._._ Baby-faced, but .1, 3.1.”: . z. ' H K, KITTY i. H: . 1W1,” raucous with it 0000 2, M. I I; , i i FLANAGAN - .. .. -' It. t . . . . ; .Jflx...‘ \a. “5,, Set-backs pave way i , . ,; z, m- .3: L1, ~_,r ‘ -_ ,7 It A ; » - ; ~ _~ -~- v; w a, k, xix W for set-ups by I I ‘ n ' I I l consummate pro ' “” .. . OWEN O’NEILL SHAPPI autumn: 't‘\':.i" . :s- v ;:_ r: .cjl .. - I $71., Irish storytellerwields KHORSANDI gnu-“.1: 3.. 1. m. 133 ; 1 I}- g._ 5 . ,. .. _ .. I ' his poetic licence ‘Tehran temptress‘ H ( h! 1 . H f: r, H 0000 suffers gag gap tini‘xi' f! ' I ~ r‘ n ". f . , .. w .' '1' i : . ' H z ' ‘ . . “'.‘:t'i_i"l«‘ i i , i i ' < v . I . .. 2 . ' ' i' ii ' ' l . . ' : .' . . i . i I n 1 : y ‘ ' ,/I t
26 THE LIST FESYIVAL GUIDE ‘-'- '