IT’S NOT BIG. IT’S NOT CLEVER. BUT IT’S… Bakehouse Theatre Until 31 Mar 2007 Review by Stephen Davenport Mark Butler’s one-man show, “It’s not big, it’s not clever, but it’s f**king funny”, isn’t big but it is very clever and it is seriously hilarious. On an almost bare set, except for a Ronnie Corbett style arm chair, Mark Butler drops comic pearls before an engaged audience. Inspired by Britain’s reaction to the Australian Tourism Commission’s “Where the bloody hell are you?” advertising campaign, Butler conducted an online survey to find out how attitudes toward swearing differed from country to country. In “It’s not big,” Butler reveals the findings of his research without actually swearing. The result is sit-down comedy where the audience do the swearing for him or faces the consequences of his do-it-yourself electric chair. Honest, unadorned and unexaggerated, Butler’s wry observations and smart quips expose the strange, absurd and often uproarious idiosyncrasies of the modern world. Can this really be the first truthful lecture on cultural uses of expletives, blasphemies and foul language? With a devastating wit and a keen eye for exacting and ridiculous detail, Mark Butler has broken out of the pack and established an inventive and distinctive style. Polished, savvy, hysterically vulgar without using vulgarity, “It’s not big,” is a wonderful comic creation. See Mark Butler while you have the opportunity because on the evidence of this show he is destined to be a leading practitioner of farcical comedy and a major craftsman in the art of black humour. “To all you reviewers in the audience I think I deserve four and a half stars,” Butler jokes. He’s being modest because “It’s not big,” is easily five star entertainment. It’s a genuine rib aching tour de force.