Review by Jessica Bradley
My name is Scott and I’m a stress head. That’s the premise of comedian Scott Bennett’s Relax routine.
With his hilariously honest, self-deprecating yet light-hearted humour, he guided a sold-out audience through an hour-long rant about his own personal life and stresses, and had the whole crowd reduced to tears of laughter.
Including the tales of a broken tumble-dryer, a trip to a monastery, and what it means to be middle-aged, Bennett delivers gag after gag which earned relentless tee-hees, giggles and snorts. Yes, someone actually snorted. And yes, Bennett made a joke about that.
This Yorkshire born and bred comic – he’s midlife crisis personified – has a lot of experience under his belt (Chortle One to Watch 2018 and 2019, Best Show at the Leicester Comedy Festival 2019 nominee, Amused Moose Comedy Award nominee), which reflects in his work. His ability to control the audience with confidence and ease, integrating them into his set, and quick-thinking wit and versatility shows he is destined for something more. Something bigger than the upstairs of a pizzeria – which is already an upgrade from last year’s show above a takeaway.
Bennett delivers a combination of anecdotal comedy with a sprinkling of a wry outlook on the world, the idiocy of modern living and no-baloney logic. Are balding men destined to be monks? Wouldn’t it be cheaper to just take the kids to the Travelodge? Is that illegal?
This show does exactly what it says on the tin. It relaxes you. You don’t feel like you are at a comedy gig or watching a performer. It’s like you are at the pub with your mates, pint in hand, sharing the woes of being an adult.
There is no on-stage façade with Scott Bennett. He is simply a middle-aged parent of two, in jeans and a t-shirt, making the audience laugh with his straightforward, familiar comedy.
