Shunted away in a tiny room in the Forum stands a man with an easel. This room is much like a storeroom and stands in stark contrast with the palacial surroundings of the Forum, housing such big stars as Steve Coogan. Given the slightly awkward start to this show (the audience entering and staring in silence at the comedian, waiting, watching, with only a seventies anthem on the audio to break the tension) Michael Williams does well to bring the audience’s attention back to centre (and side) of stage.
Anyone who knows Michael’s work at all knows that it is dominated by visual images usually drawn on large sheets of cardboard (hence the easel). He begins his show without speaking, starting with a large notebook before moving onto the easel. This section comes with a soundtrack and provides some of the biggest laughs of the show, with an advertisement for ‘alleys’ being a particular standout.
As this concludes Michael moves onto the bulk of the show with his standard delivery, of verbal introduction to each image. There are some absolutely inspired moments in this show, with Easter Zombies, womb people and unicorns, in particular, providing some huge laughs. There are also many moments where Michael skates willingly on the fine edge of taste, like demonstraiting his love for BBQ sauce and a particularly hirsute image. There are four sets of cards which Michael manouvers around the tiny stage whilst accompanied by some prerecorded audio material.
Michaels uses his in between banter to connect the different drawings. His banter doesn’t really extend beyond this function however, and the ‘down time’ created here often breaks the momentum of the show. Michael himself admits several times during the show that he is not a slick comedian, and admittedly, there can be humour in some of his cumbersome attempts to rearrange the stage props, however his banter needs to be either sharper or more humourous in it’s own right to maintain the hour long format. The topics he covers are disperate and are also linked through his banter. Again Michael’s weakness with verbal skills showed a bit here, creating the impression that much of the material has been crowbarred into place.
That said though, this is still a fantastic exhibition of this young comedian’s, often sadistic, brain, with his charmingly naive drawings providing plenty of entertainment. More than worth the squeeze to get in.
For more info and booking details go Michael Williams – Nice ‘n’ Easel