Steve Larkin opens Fat Sex by asking the audience to say hi, (once he has said hello) and asks everyone to say their names all at the same time. In this particular performance, the audience was called Samantha. Larkin then proceeds to explain that he’s from Leeds in England and that explains his accent.
Fat Sex is a combination of stand up comedy, songs and spoken word poetry from Larkin. His stand up routine won’t have you in stitches, but it might produce a laugh or two. He conducted an informal poll about who liked Steven Harper (one lone soul at a table) then marvels at how he was then elected (this is his hometown!). He explained that spoken word poets in England have giant egos and then launches into a poem about his alter ego Winaka.
Larkin then explains the different forms of poetry and launches into his found poetry, based on what he found in women’s magazines. Considering that this piece is what the promotional material of his performance is based on, it’s not really the star. Larkin’s brightest moment and smartest piece is a poem entitled: Post Colonial Global Blues. It’s a smartly written depiction of the problems that the world is facing, with ocean waters rising and the richer getting fatter. If the entire evening was filled with poetry of this caliber, Samantha would have been at the edge of her seat.
Fat Sex is part of the Calgary Fringe Festival. It plays one more time in the festival. More information is available online.