Sixteen years in Malaysia, 16 in the UK. Thirty-two-year-old Phil Wang’s geographical equilibrium is nicely reflected in his new show The Real Hero in All This. If you want intelligent standup (a bit observational, a bit autobiographical) with no particular cultural flavour, Wang won’t disappoint, with strong routines on social media, the fridge versus the oven, and “photos of people who live in the house, in the house”. If you want a little cross-cultural flavouring on your standup dish – well, there’s his usual garnish here of now-thoughtful, now-flighty jokes on life as a biracial British-Asian with an amusingly beady prospect on western life.
There’s no theme uniting this update from the life of Phil, far less some emotional journey to take us on – as per many a fringe standup show. That’s not the equable Wang’s style. There’s a routine on his repressed relationship with his Chinese dad: all tight lips and brisk hugs. It’s an Asian thing, apparently – and it’s rubbed off on Phil’s comedy, which is witty and crafty, but seldom heartfelt and certainly not high-octane.
But whenever I felt the show wanting for an injection of oomph, it got one, via a well-hewn joke or unlikely formulation, if not from any variation in Wang’s delivery. There’s a choice routine about what makes white people panic – not what you’d expect, but not something you can deny. There’s a section on the editing process of his recent book – which might sound highbrow but ends up, via “a wank that was primarily admin”, as anything but.
The same combination of mildly sexual and very ridiculous animates a fine gag about the coyness that surrounds the female nipple. There’s also an extended section on Wang’s Netflix special, and the low-level celebrity it has brought – which is contrasted, faux-wistfully, with the particularly Asian brand of anonymity that preceded it. Another Netflix special, and a raising of that celebrity level, may be within his grasp after this high-end offering: a silly, self-unserious hour that considers his and our lives from ever-surprising new angles.
At Assembly George Square, Edinburgh, until 21 August.
