Anesti Danelis: This Show Will Change Your Life – Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Anesti Danelis: This Show Will Change Your Life continues at Laughing Horse @ The Hanover Tap, Edinburgh until 28 August 2022.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

On the way to see his show, Anesti Danelis offered me a flyer. He seemed a gentle, unassuming, slightly shy man so you might be lulled into thinking his show would be the same. It isn’t. During the performance we get to know a lot about Danelis (a Canadian, Greek-lite, bisexual man, who also writes very funny songs). He gets to know a lot about the audience by gentle probing and questioning. Don’t be afraid though, he isn’t the sort of performer into hectoring you if you don’t want to take part.

We found out how long couples had been together, whether they had strayed and what they steal from work. He had to do a bit of on the spot couples counselling as two guys on the front row differed in their response to one of his questions. We also learned that some people are easily offended (a walk out at one of the more full-on songs)

The wickedly funny song that caused the offence (none taken by me and the rest of the audience) was about the revenge a bi man can take on the family of the guy who has dumped him in terms of ahem “getting close” to his mother, his sister, his father and other assorted relatives.

I particularly liked the number about really being upfront and vocal when people piss you off but in the performer’s case (like most of us) the angry voice and more outrageous imaginings are in his head.

Danelis is a really talented lyric writer – sharp, smart, funny and often unexpected and he has an engaging onstage presence. He is a decent musician too, whether on the guitar or keyboards, but it is the words that matter here.

I won’t tell you how this show will change your life. I will leave that up to Danelis, but it is well worth going along to find out.

Keith Paterson