Born in Aberdeenshire and now local to the Edinburgh comedy scene, Robin Grainger has seen previous successes at the Edinburgh Fringe as well as on BBC Scotland’s Comedy Underground, nominated for both the ISH Edinburgh Comedy Awards and the Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award. He has built his career on key themes and interests which span his work — namely, questions of what happiness is, and what happiness and positivity can provide in the face of negative forces.
Lemonade continues this trend in Grainger’s style and substance. The product is a genuinely funny, fast-paced, and life-affirming stand-up act which places its message at the absolute centre of the medium. That is, without coming across preachy or superficial in any way: this is not a self-help lecture. Grainger commands the stage with wit, skilled crowd control, and sympathetic self-deprecating humour. He moves deftly between battling a roll of Sellotape, poking fun at himself for looking like a paedophile, making the case for pursuing happiness, lamenting the effects of social media, and the fishing village he grew up in in the throes of alcoholism and Valium addiction.
The topics are sprawling and perhaps slightly unfocused at times, but Lemonade’s through line — the question of happiness and daily positivity — is a welcome aspect which certainly lends audiences a guiding hand and a key to seeing what exactly Grainger is getting at. Indeed, what he is getting at is what it means, and what it takes, to heal in the face of negativity and mundanity; sometimes this even means embracing those things, to come out happier on the other side. True enough, I can safely say the audience I was with came out generally happier from this show.
Robin Grainger: Lemonade, Assembly George Square, until 31 Aug, 8.20pm