Mark Restuccia went on 1500 dates – and is now banned from the mainstream online dating sites after writing a few articles and bringing a show to last year’s Edinburgh Fringe about his experiences. This year his show is based on his escapades and misfortunes of adult dating sites – and before you ask – yes that’s adult dating as in the ‘adult movie’ sense.
Mark’s horror stories were so strange that it seems highly unlikely they were made up. He has tales about estate agents, an accidental kidnapping and even one involving Batman. Those of a sensitive disposition be warned – his anecdotes can be pretty graphic – in particular his dabbles in the heterosexual version of Grindr.
Although the stories in themselves were of a humorous nature, there weren’t really any punch lines, and as such the show didn’t feel like it suited its label as an hour of stand-up comedy. The writing was sharp and Mark was very likeable – but there was nothing to make you belly laugh.
The audience was mostly silent except for a group of noisy older ladies who were hitting the white wine or ‘lady petrol’ as Mark called it. He dealt with them reasonably well, but there were still some awkward moments. I felt somewhat sorry for the married couple in the audience who had met online because I don’t think this was the show they were expecting.
Overall I couldn’t help feeling the show would have been better serialized in a book, or billed as storytelling instead of stand-up. Whilst it was enjoyable, it didn’t make me laugh out loud.
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Mark Restuccia – The Diary of a Serial Internet Dater is on from now until the 25th August at Just The Tonic at Bristo Square at 5:30pm. Buy Tickets HERE
