Paul Foot’s slightly surreal and frenetic persona means you might be rather surprised to hear his new show, Dissolve, follows the emotional journey of his personal battle with depression. However, it is just what he and everyone needs. 

The Trinity Theatre in Tunbridge Wells is his latest stop on his extended national tour and it’s pretty much full to the rafters. The show begins with Foot giving us twenty minutes of, what he describes as, his best bits from previous shows. He is his own support act and it works perfectly, getting the audience on his bizarre but intellectual wavelength right from the start and warming us up for the award-winning hour to come after the interval. 

Quite frankly, Dissolve is a brilliant show which touches on subjects comedians dare talk about. Themes of mental illness, trauma and recovery feature heavily throughout & Foot knows just how to deliver the perfect punchline amongst the most personal detail. You can’t help but be absorbed into his every word. It’s a well thought out set which delves into topics all audience members can empathise with to some degree. It may not be laugh out loud funny and there is the odd moment which didn’t quite work but it’s a beautiful story and Foot takes you on a thrilling journey through his mind and his struggles. There’s no audience participation but no one dares to heckle – it’s Foot’s show and why spoil that by interrupting his flow.

Hard hitting, thought provoking and a superb ending that doesn’t need a punchline, it’s a show I’ll be thinking about for some time. 

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