Emma McAlpine reviews Yianni Agisilaou's autobiographical show.
Loosely based on the famous Philip Larkin poem 'This Be The Verse', Yianni Agisilaou’s show examines the relationships he has with his Cypriot family and the impact they’ve had on his life. We meet his stubborn and arrogant father, his overbearing mother who wants him to move back home and his grandmother (YiaYia) who has set her hopes on him marrying a nice Cypriot girl.
While his family come across as rather exaggerated stereotypes, Agisilaou can certainly spin a good story and we’re quickly absorbed by his upbringing; from struggling to make friends at school and winning them over with a raunchy book, to moving back to Cyprus, learning Greek and giving up law to follow his dream of becoming a stand-up comedian.
Particularly enjoyable is his description of learning Greek and slowly discovering beautiful phrases that only a native would know, plus he has a cracking retort to the question: “Do you understand more than you speak?” Where he has a bit of a way to go, is on performance. Although he gets off to a confident start establishing a connection with the audience; he then lets himself get distracted by them and has to bounce up and down on the spot to get back on track. It’s undeniably irritating if people are mumbling or going on loo breaks but if you let it get to you, you risk losing momentum.
Some of the dramatic techniques work and some don’t. A good use of callback goes down well (mind you, who doesn’t love a callback, it makes us feel so clever for remembering the first joke), but then there is a bizarre protracted section where he plays out an imaginary conversation between his parents in the style of film characters. It could have been met with an awkward silence if he hadn’t finished it saying “a reviewer described that bit as ‘unnecessary’”, who, judging by the hearty laughter of the audience, we wholly agree with.
I am reminded of something the comedian Adam Riches said to me in a recent interview, that he doesn’t necessarily have to laugh all the way through a performance or like it all; he’s just happy being in someone’s head for an hour. That is a bit how I feel about Yianni Agisilaou’s show. It wasn’t particularly unique or hugely funny, but just for an hour, I enjoyed journeying into his life, seeing it from several very different perspectives.
Yianni Agisilaou: They @#*% You Up: Greek Parents is at Just the Tonic at the Caves until 29th August.
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