A review of Alfie Packham: My Gift to You, Fringe 2024

“Alfie Packham: My Gift to You” was a recommendation and described to me as a promising newcomer. It was a good recommendation, but I’m still somewhat undecided about the show.

Importantly, my time in the audience at “Alfie Packham: My Gift to You” was the preview show. These are notoriously the worst as the comedian or performer smooths out the rough edges, gets up their confidence and finds their rhythm. At no point did Alfie Packham ever seem lost, cowed or desperately trying to find the light of hope from ill-conceived ideas. However, this is a sombre comedy that deals with grief, and there were pauses in the performance, just short ones, and they may have been emotional.

I like the Underbelly venues in Bristo Square. They’re underground, dark but well ventilated and comfortable, but they’re also a little clinical and church-like, and being underground reminds me of tombs and graveyards. It all felt appropriate.

There’s a little bit of audience participation, too. If you’re lucky, you might get some cherry-flavoured Pepsi Max (I like the stuff and drink far too much) and bang a drum.

Tone

Alfie Packhman is a frizzy-haired young man who looks fit and full of life. However, we soon find out that people have been making assumptions about his ethnicity, and he’s been wrestling with weight.

From the outset, “My Gift to You” mixes comedy with some heavy and potentially triggering issues. That’s okay. I think comedy, especially if it’s not a parody, is a great way to address awkward topics or inequalities and ensure we keep talking about them. The show’s notes on the Edinburgh Fringe ticket site might have been wise to mention them up front, though.

The highlight for me was the jokes and truths about Warhammer. I’d just come from a gig where one of the comedians apparently didn’t know much about D&D and was delighted to sit down with a fellow geek. Alfie Packham has a Chaos army, but I couldn’t tell you which version of Warhammer it’s for.

The backbone of “My Gift to You” is the story of his mother. She sounds like a woman who was remarkably brave and fun.

We read through a Bucket List, which is a set of things to do before you die, and point by point, flipped between the mundane, the heartwarming, funny and tragic. That’s impressive but also hard to deal with emotionally. It’s quite challenging to go from feeling sorry for a performer to releasing that the joke they just made was worthy of applause.

I can’t say I laughed throughout Alfie Packham’s gig or laughed so much that my ribs hurt. He made me laugh, but he also made me confront sadness and death.

What to expect

There is some audience participation and you might have to be responsible for a drumroll.

I can’t entirely say it’s all mild because while I think Alfie is a young man who does not like confrontation, I think his mind quickly imagines what a possible confrontation might be and makes a joke about it. You don’t need iron-thick skin, but, for example, he fired our drummer, and if you’re feeling vulnerable, those barbs might stick even without malice behind them.

Alfie has a large birthday present on stage, and every now and then (drumroll) will venture over to it to produce a prop. I suppose “My Gift to You” might not be about death but remembering to celebrate life, especially yours. That reminder could be the gift.

It’s a cerebral comedy, often sombre and one that feels heartfelt. It’s just not always an easy comedy, and this is not a gig for you and tipsy friends to rock in from the bars of Bristo Square.

Overall

It’s clever and crafted but still, at times, hard to navigate. It’s not an easy ride; you sometimes have to catch up with the tone even if the words are easy to follow.

I’d go see Alfie again, but I’d be careful about the circumstances.