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On The Funny Side
Verdict: Friendly and conspiratorial
London - Blackfriars Pavilion - May / July 03
Tonight's part of a series of comedy at new venue Blackfriars Pavilion by producers Underhand. By day it's a wine bar for city traders, 6 of whom make their presence felt loudly in conversation at the back bar during most of this evening's show. It's a comfortable vaulted space, intimate and ideal for stand-up.
MC - Matt Holt Matt Holt's an inspired, warm and entertaining host - and a fine stand-up. He creates a friendly, conspiratorial atmosphere, setting up an extremely funny night of excellent comedy.
His topics through the show include phone text perversion, paedophilic cures for giant city Land Rovers, and confessions about his life in Hotmail dating. He's set up a cruel liaison this very night between Barry and Claire - we're invited to be voyeurs.
Alexis Dubus is a tall thin man ('I'm 24') with floppy dark-brown hair, jeans, open-necked shirt. He's cruelly introduced as resembling a monkey, but confesses only to looking like a child-killer.
It's an affectionate and gifted set, with great material - from Reservoir Dogs, Tesco shoplifting, Chiltern FM, a (worryingly accurate) Hannibal Lecter impersonation, sexual harrassment in the work place ('I kept trying to grab my own cock. I ran a creche'), and the Christian with the megaphone in Oxford Street ('Don't be a sinner: be a winner').
Clare Campbell's in blue jeans, white long-sleeved T, with short dark-brown hair and a trustworthy face. She has a gentle, patient, polite, reasonable, and understanding voice, the better to subvert her outstandingly funny act ('The people at the back of the room are cunts. Can I say that?').
She's interested in names, some of which can be fatal. It's a sensitive set covering contraception methods ('I thought of sitting opposite you' to the family planning nurse), drawing on cheque-book stubs and flicking them ('Me getting deeper into debt, but my bank-manager systematically fucking me').
Relationships with parents are covered with sparkling perception, also the homeless, vibrators, low-budget breast enhancement, and DIY. Blissful.
There's an interval, during which the venue generously provides a large, excellent, free buffet to the audience.
The glorious Matt Blaize bounds on. He's (very) tall, handsome and instantly engaging. Matt Blaize is black, and it's a topic he visits from time to time, in a caring and diplomatic way ('There's more black-on-white action going on here than 101 Dalmatians').
Tonight, he's interested in Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, complete honesty, the late Queen Mum, the Royal Family, parental sex, contraception by withdrawl (among many other topics), and taking out his penis to a man called Simon.
Matt Blaize is a sharp political analyst, and tonight it's the invasion of Iraq, 'friendly fire' (useful advice on how to get revenge on American tourists), UK/US relationships. It's difficult adequately to describe the warmth and delight of Matt Blaize's wit, delivery and his method with material - it's sheer joy. And Simon escapes the Blaize sausage.
Steve Day's introduced as a deaf comedian. He's tall, in jeans with sports shirt, short hair, an aimable face. People have questioned his deafness when well-dressed ('You can't be deaf, you're wearing a suit. Fuck off').
He's only 70% deaf, he explains - in his calm voice that carries a trace of (The Goon Show's) Eccles - and that's a shortcoming in the highly competitive world of deaf politics. His 5 children may be due, his wife feels, to his not being able to hear the word 'No'.
His approach to deafness is subtle and circuitous, putting us at ease. He moves on to other topics - vaseline, sex, pizzas, studying philosophy at university - some of which he relates elliptically to deafness: opportunity failing to knock at the door ('I wouldn't have heard').
And there's Fisting The Cat. Steve Day's headlining set is a triumph of wit, quirky material that's treated with cunning, and a subtle, engaging delivery. Amazing.
Credits (alpha order): Matt Blaize. Clare Campbell. Steve Day. Alexis Dubus. MC - Matt Holt. Sound - Richard Wright. Company - Underhand. Producer - Matt Holt.
END
John Park
reviewed Thursday 12 June 03 / Blackfriars Pavilion
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2009
