First a word of warning. Do not arrive late to this show or you will not be admitted. My other half found out the hard way.
This year Phil Nichol has developed a character piece for his show. His creation Bobby Spade is a Lounge Lizard type with a talent for poetry and song. In many ways he is not too far removed from Phil in that he explores the same territory and executes it with same manic energy. What separates them is the limit to how far each goes. Bobby is Phil ramped up to eleven; no topic is taboo and he doesn’t care who gets offended or hurt.
The shows structure is that of an intimate nightclub performance by Bobby. He recites many pieces of poetry, sings songs and generally vents at the audience. He was backed by a band (played by Greg Neale and Mick Moriarty) to make it a highly musical experience. I was concerned that the volume of the band was too loud and we would have trouble catching every nuance of Phil’s words, but I needn’t have worried. He was as subtle a baseball bat to the head and could scream and wail with the best of them. Bobby constantly spouted obscenities, vividly described the vilest of acts, told the basest of one liners and was generally the mayor and sheriff of Wrongtown. The majority of the crowd, myself included, loved every moment and were constantly on the floor with tears of laughter.
In the perfect performance of someone on the edge, he often turned on his band and ended poems and songs abruptly or awkwardly. This made it difficult for the audience to clearly see where each piece ended, which certainly wasn’t helped by the never ending musical soundtrack provided by the musicians. Upon reflection, I saw that this was irrelevant as Bobby didn’t actually need our applause.
After a while, it seemed that this piece was nothing but an excuse for Phil to push buttons and be as offensive as he could. For some people it was a vile exercise in endurance which caused many walk outs in the audience I was a part of. There was however something more going on under the surface. This damaged soul gradually revealed information as to how messed up he was and how he became that way. This led to a brilliant climax that exposed a story arc for the entire show, although it will dawn on most post-reveal that there were a few clues inserted throughout.
A Deadpan Poet Sings Quiet Songs Quietly is a brilliant yet difficult show. Despite his appearance as an amusing lounge singer in the advertising it is extremely confronting material wise. If you can handle the onslaught and can stick with it through to the end, you will be rewarded with one of the most satisfying experiences in a comedy show.
For booking details visit the Comedy Festival website