Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Reviewed by: Nati Ziv
Bennet Arron’s I Regret This Already tells the story of the comic’s life through a series of mishaps, mistakes and, ultimately, regrets, with topics ranging in severity from getting stuck in a grave to not spending more time with his father before he died.
Covering subject matter relating to depression, dementia and death, Bennet makes sure to give us a disclaimer before the show begins. “Trust me, it’s a laugh a minute,” he says wryly, but he’s true to his word! If anybody is capable of taking such dark material and creating a show packed with one-liners, witty crowd work and genuine moments of belly laughter, it’s this comic with 29 years of experience under his belt: Bennet Arron. And I know what you’re thinking, but he hasn’t heard of you either.
Bennet’s manner of speech is gentle and soothing, taking us through his stories with a healthy dose of self-deprecation and a warmth which makes him instantly likeable. He is the UK’s first victim of identity fraud, had Sir Anthony Hopkins light his parents’ fireplace, and lost £150k worth of comic books, and that’s not even half of the weird and wonderful material covered in this performance.
I loved this show so much that I went to watch it again a week later and loved it as much as the crowd around me, seeing it for the first time. Bennet is relentlessly earnest, unafraid to be the butt of his own jokes, and has such flawless delivery that, upon a second watch, I realised the conversational act was actually cleverly crafted.
Of the hundreds of one-man comedy shows with a man and a microphone at the Fringe, I thoroughly recommend everybody have a listen to I Regret This Already.
