BriTANicK

Sketch duo lands big swings in this crazy fever dream of laughter and mayhem

BriTANicK

Yesterday I was asked to insult Brian from BriTANicK as part of one of their sketches and I regret what I said. I panicked, I’m only human, and I want people to know that I didn’t mean it when I said I didn’t like his moustache. It’s the only thing I could think of in the heat of the moment. It was a cheap shot, too. What’s worse, I actually think Brian from BriTANicK’s moustache is perfectly fine. So let’s just leave it at that.

At least, I’d like to leave it there only I’ve been thinking about the show - because it’s possibly some of the best sketch comedy I’ve ever seen - and now I need to work out how to review this crazy fever dream of laughter I had in a shipping container just off George Square. An ounce of objectivity will do, but there are a couple of standout moments I can’t help but fixate on.

BriTANicK’s sketches are fleet-footed, pacey, and barbed. They take risks and don’t shy away from a punchline. A mischievous ghost gets in too deep while haunting the wrong kind of guy. A course in Shakespearean over-acting takes a turn for the absurd. This segues nicely into an excruciatingly brilliant skewering of middle-class slam poetry that's better than most slam poetry, before the whole show turns into a weird gymnasium of jokes where gravity no longer seems to apply. Gags fly for longer, the pay-offs grow bigger and bolder, and the sketches never fully touch the ground. And then things get really weird.ec693bbf79d57de551be8004ba2e75174e5725da.jpg

Nick, the latter half of BriTANicK, is clambering over the audience, trousers around his ankles and his t-shirt pulled over his head. A threat is scrawled across his chest and he's shouting that he wants to fuck me for being a snack in ‘the fuck buffet’ as part of a long-running, ‘no fap’ wedding gag involving several missed calls from his temporarily chaste fiancé. It’s unclear how we got here exactly. But I know in this moment, I am having a good time. I’d even forgotten the moustache incident, which seemed like a lifetime ago.

If I had my time again, I’d like to think I wouldn’t pretend to dislike Brian’s facial hair. It’s the only part I’d change and it's my fault. Even the messiest bits of the show feel raw enough to deserve their place. Instead, I’d call Brian a poor man’s Ryan Gosling. A Brian Gosling, if you will. But not like Crazy, Stupid, Love Brian Gosling or Bladerunner 2049 Brian Gosling. I’m talking Brian Gosling from the 70s crime caper and commercial flop The Nice Guys. Shame about the film. Russell Crowe was outstanding as the straight man. What an unexpectedly brilliant comedy duo though… 

Sorry, what? Just stick to the review, sure. BriTANicK, five stars. Hilarious. Go see it. 

Header Image Credit: All images Sela Shiloni

Author

Jack Solloway

Jack Solloway Voice team

A writer from the West Midlands living in London. His prose has appeared in Aesthetica Magazine, Review 31, The Times and TLS, among others.

We need your help supporting young creatives

Recent posts by this author

View more posts by Jack Solloway

0 Comments

Post A Comment

You must be signed in to post a comment. Click here to sign in now

You might also like

West End Actor Interrogates Stereotyping Faced by Latinx People in Soho Theatre Solo Show

West End Actor Interrogates Stereotyping Faced by Latinx People in Soho Theatre Solo Show

by Daniel Miller

Read now