Ever fancied getting up on stage and trying your hand at stand-up? Ross Sutherland's new interactive show lets you do just that. Emma McAlpine reviews.
Ross Sutherland couldn’t have picked a better venue for his piece of interactive comedy theatre than Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club. Set in the eighties, the show follows the set of a two bit comedian called Joe Pops who is shot halfway through his dismal routine on November 11th, 1983. The BGWMC’s wonderfully naff decor – plywood panel walls, glitzy foil curtains and old pub carpet – is the perfect backdrop for the fictional ‘Crack Me Up Comedy Club’ where the murder takes place.
For Sutherland’s imaginative show, he spreads a large majority of the audience around tables which each have their own part to play in the lead up the murder, with characters including Joe’s agent, the first act, the drunken heckler and the hen party. Each table gets to decide which character they’d like to take on, aided by props and a script. The short set is then repeated several times, giving each table the chance to move around and try out different roles, including the meatiest (and bravest) of all, the comedian in the spotlight.
Sutherland’s script is cleverly designed, letting the audience improvise their own heckles and catchphrases so there is something different to laugh at (or not) with each loop. As the audience get more familiar with the script and more creative with their heckles, the potential for comedy increases. However, this is also the show’s weak spot. Because the humour hinges on the audience, it takes just a few lacklustre players for the show to falter. One Joe Pops is hugely entertaining; the next is slow and monotonous. Some have hilarious quips; while others miss their lines.
As the genial gig compere, Sutherland and a few cleverly placed actors keep the momentum going, but as part of the small percentage of the audience not actively involved in the show, I found the repetition started to drag towards the end of the hour. If all the audience input had been consistently entertaining and I had been swapping tables every five minutes, this might not have been the case. Still, this is a smartly conceived, fun hour. I’d recommend going with a group of friends and some imagination – this show is only as good as you make it.
Comedian Dies in the Middle of a Joke is at the Bethnal Green Working Men's Club on 6th March, 20th March, 3rd April and 17th April, at 8pm.
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