A thought-provoking hour of comedy that unpicks what it is to be ‘normal’ in the 21st century

Ashley Blaker doesn’t like the word normal and rightly so. After all, he’s the father of six children, three of whom have special educational needs (SEN). Some ignorant folk might term SEN kids the opposite of normal. Blaker, however, refers to them as ‘Zappas’. “‘Normal’ children are like Coldplay,” he explains. “Perfectly good, but boring. Our children are like Frank Zappa. They just don’t give a fuck.”

So ensues an hour of clever, well-informed and well-written comedy about the London comic’s anarchic home life. Some of it you might recognise from his 2021 BBC Radio 4 show, 6.5 Children, recorded in his home and starring his real family (series two is currently airing). Normal Schmormal is also an extension of the book of the same name, which Blaker subtitles An Occasionally Helpful Guide to Parenting Kids with Special Needs.

The stand-up show is less a guide and more a series of outrageous (and outrageously funny) stories interspersed with photos. Like the reason his eldest son Adam’s bar mitzvah consisted of video games and junk food at home – because the first (and only) time they took him to synagogue, he behaved so badly that “even Mel Gibson eating a bacon sandwich would have been more welcome”. Or the time his third child Dylan (aka Bruce Wayne according to Dylan) had to review John Boyne’s Boy in the Striped Pyjamas at school and gave it 9.8/10 because it “didn’t have enough comedy”.

The ultimate root of Normal Schmormal’s success is down to the delivery, which is warm and sincere. Blaker’s throwaway jibes about speech therapists and hospital visits nod to a very real struggle that he and his partner face on a daily basis. It’s a personal show that’s inviting, hugely amusing and fantastically far from normal.

By Danielle Goldstein

Photo © Steve Ullathorne

Ashley Blaker: Normal Schmormal runs until Sunday 27 August. 5.15pm. £10/£11, £9/£10 concs. Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Underbelly @ Bristo Square, EH8 9AG. He then tours the UK from September until February 2024. ashleyblaker.com