John-Luke Roberts Distracts You From A Murder at Soho Theatre

John-Luke Roberts Distracts You From A Murder at Soho Theatre

06 June, 2011
by: Rupertspoonfed

Can a comic be funny enough to distract you from live slaughter? Turns out, yes indeed they can. 

It takes some stand-up comics many years to originate an individual sense of identity. John-Luke Roberts on the other hand, appears to have managed it with his very first solo show. The jokes, sketches and overall concept, are not only very funny, but also incredibly idiosyncratic and superbly executed (no pun intended).

It’s difficult to sum up his style without sounding pretentious and irritating; words like subversive, ironic and postmodern would probably have to appear. So instead, let’s just say he’s got a stream of funny and intelligent material, some quite surreal, some very silly, and almost all of it extremely inventive. There’s also room for a wide variety of different comedic disciplines, including one-liners, character comedy, sketches, visual humour and storytelling, all of which sit together perfectly.

Part of what combines all these diverse aspects so well is the excellent overriding concept of the show, as explained by the title. Roberts is performing this comedy to distract us from his committing a murder. He has an offstage assistant called Gareth whom he treats appallingly throughout the performance, and at various moments it appears the foul deed may have taken place. Meanwhile, the audience is ‘distracted’ via various means, such as Roberts insulting us one-by-one, showing us a Government information film, telling us tragic tales from his past, and performing a Kate Bush tribute which involves one lucky male audience member helping him into an ultra-skimpy leotard. The performance ends with Roberts taking part in a final dance-off against Gareth, but with a brilliant twist.

These various elements mean that there really is never a dull moment and you will never get bored from too much of one type of comedy. However, more importantly, each individual bit is, in itself, extremely well-written. The comedic insults allow Roberts to cram in a host of great one-liners, more than you get with a lot of actual one-liner comedians. There are lots of other funny gags slotted in here and there, and the sketches are equally strong. It is also worth mentioning that the show is devoid of swearing or crudity, and yet maintains an edge thanks to its wit and ability to treat dark subject matter in as humourous and silly a way as possible.

Crucially, Roberts manages to exploit this fine writing to the full with an excellent performance. He has spot-on timing, a wonderfully expressive face, and a knowing air of artifice about him that is reminiscent of performers such as Tim Key or Gary Delaney. This range of skills allows for masterful joke delivery as well as superb comedic play-acting.

As the show approaches the end, it successfully builds to a climax and even manages a final revelation that I certainly hadn’t anticipated. All in all, it’s a very strong debut, and whilst a murder may have been committed, there was certainly no dying on stage for this promising young comic.

Read Spoonfed's interview with John-Luke Roberts


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