ScotsGay Magazine

****

It's odd, but at the age of 24, poet Luke Wright seems like a Fringe veteran already. He has been strutting his stuff with the other boys from Aisle 16 since he was 19. Last year A:16 appeared in the form of a poetry boy band. This year Luke appears solo.

The London Olympics, ex smokers, his love for Richard Madeley, the furniture of Ikea… Luke Wright's has an exceedingly sharp satirical tongue. His slightly self- deprecating poem about refusing to get out of bed for 'less than ten grand' was another highlight. But it is when he has a go at other poets, especially the current Poet Laureate, Andrew Motion, that Luke Wright is at his best. You may think attacks on Motion would seem arrogant and unwise, but when Wright reads an excerpt from Motion's rap poem to Prince Harry, You realise that Wright has hit the nail on the head.

Perhaps Wright needs to mix it up a bit in terms of style and pace. His performance is relentless and hard-hitting, and some times a little too much. But too much of a good thing is still a bloody good thing.

Martin Walker

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