Anna Burnside reviews ‘an engaging and self-deprecating performer’.
No offence to the many thousands of other comedians performing in Edinburgh this August, but they are not magnificent physical specimens. Very few could be described as hot. Mario Adrion, a German former underwear model, is possibly the only gag-maker who one would want to see in Speedos.
Just in case we are in any doubt that 6ft 2in of photogenic manflesh is about to walk among us, his show starts with a greatest hits reel. To rub it in, there are several gags about the genetic ungifted nature of the audience. Thanks dude.
These days Adrion, now 32, has moved beyond Milan Fashion Week (or, as he calls it, the World Cup for hot people). He makes funny YouTubes and performs stand-up rather than getting his kit off on the catwalk. Live a Little is a personal show, examining how male models are sexually exploited and objectified by the fashion industry.
They are also paid considerably less than women for the privilege of crash dieting, attending humiliating castings and having photographers trade access to designers for access to their pants.
There’s a horrible story at the heart of this show, made all the more grim by the fact that Adrion didn’t realise what was happening to him at the time. Or afterwards. It wasn’t until he met the woman who is now his wife that it all fell into place.
Adrion is an engaging and self-deprecating performer, full of Germanic stoicism and Hitler gags. I could have taken less circumcision chat and more insight into how it felt to be on the rough end of the gender pay gap. But maybe that’s just me.
Mario Adrion: Live a Little performs at the Pleasance Courtyard until 30 August 2026. For specific dates and times, go to the Fringe website.
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