Maria Shehata opened the show with a light and entertaining set, going down the classic route of comparing gloomy Brits to positive, interspersing with some more outrageous tales of Egyptian Coptic Christian wedding vows. The more cheerful comedy of Shehata then gave way to its polar opposite – the chaos and fury of Jonathan Pie!
Witty, funny, and very rant-y (in a good way), Jonathan Pie is campaigning to urge young people, particularly young boys, to vote. But this is not your average political comedy. Learning that 1/3 of children in the UK live in near-poverty can be extremely sobering to hear, but Pie manages to both inform and entertain, never missing a beat as he seamlessly switches between harsh truths and laugh-out-loud jokes. British humour to the max, Pie’s show is interspersed with comical Strictly Come Dancing moves, emergency warnings about toilet breaks, and a clever repartee with audience members who just won’t get off their phones. Home truths made palatable, via uproarious humour, is how best to describe the show.
Pie cleverly frames his comedy act within the ‘unbiased’ format of impartial BBC reporting, satirising both the media and politicians. Jonathan Pie’s scathing mockery of billionaires fail to act was rousing, and the rallying cry to be politically aware was felt throughout the show. Rishi Sunak, Boris Johnson, and Suella Braverman are but a few of his victims, and this was certainly not a space made safe for Tory-supporters. And he doesn’t stop there. His vulgar jokes are underscored with rage, and a particular AI dig at Thérèse Coffey bordered on downright cruel. Nonetheless, he opens our eyes to the truth of our country, holding a mirror up to ourselves and our own hypocrisy, considering how no human can truly be good in this terrible world – no one is safe from Pie’s remarks. His words are soaked in anger and truths, though the entire audience laughs along with him. But amongst the well-articulated rants and sardonic retorts, lay a comforting truth – that we are all human, and all that we can do is try our best. His self-deprecating and hap-hazard demeanour only made him more entertaining.
All in all, this was a comedic insight into how dystopian our world truly is.
Jonathan Pie: Heroes & Villains' - limited West-End run at the Duke Of York's Theatre, runs until 27th April. Get tickets at JonathanPie.com
0 Comments