Word of mouth is Doug Stenhope's first rush, recorded in 2002 as a DVD. An even more or less young comedian crooks, tells obscene jokes in exchange for alcohol and shouts from the stage everything that will shout out for the next few years at each performance. Doug’s career, of course, at that time consisted of more than ten years of constant travel around the country, but from “Mouth to Mouth” is the first opportunity for the comedian to spread his ideas not only to half-drunk people sitting in provincial bars, but also to those who do not live there, but live at home, with a DVD player and cheap beer bought in a nearby mini-market.
The speeches of Stanhope, as well as, in fact, any other figures, you need to look in order, so it is easier to make a picture of the comedian, make an impression of him, build a full-fledged system, get all the fun from beginning to end. I was unlucky in this regard, Word of mouth was the last rush I didn’t see at Stanhope and I watched it already knowing in advance what Doug is capable of and what will happen to him later. By and large, this performance can be described as a “concentrated Stanhope”: all the topics covered by him are covered here most rigidly, uncompromisingly, the comedian himself is not yet tired and has not lost enthusiasm, actively moves around the stage with a spark in his eyes and the hope that something else will be given. If we consider the era of haste, “word of mouth” can be considered a kind of youthful maximalism Stanhope, even though he was already thirty with a hack. Here you can still think that the comedian is just provocative; that he will eventually become a “normal member of society” and his views will change over time, that he will find a job, start a family with five children and be happy. You can close your eyes to Word-of-mouth until "Nick Hero" comes out, where everything becomes clear: it's not just a temporary fascination, this guy really is, and most likely will remain that way for a long time, and it's not just that. Word of mouth is a kind of point of return, a place where it may seem that anything else is possible.
In light of this, I had the feeling, to be honest, that out of the utter irrevocability of 'Before you point a gun,' you're going back to where anything is possible. That is why it seems to me that “word of mouth” is a performance, in general, on an amateur. Here Stanhope says all that he will say more than once, but in this talk he assumes some special form of concentration, undilutedness and, as it may seem, empty talk, based on nothing. And knowing what will happen in advance and what will turn all that looks like a twist and outrageous here, it is impossible to perceive “word of mouth” as something really serious and complete. It is possible that those who start with this hastened their acquaintance with Doug, this feeling will not arise. Quite possibly, why not.