Phil Nichol, Soho Theatre | reviews, news & interviews
Phil Nichol, Soho Theatre
Phil Nichol, Soho Theatre
Canadian comic explores (very) dark side in the guise of his poetic alter-ego
Sunday, 07 March 2010
'Don't spoil it with applause!': Phil Nichol as manic beat preacher Bobby Spade
How far is too far? That’s the question which underlies the nihilistic versifying of Bobby Spade, white-suited barfly bard, the laureate of oedipal self-loathing who swims in a miasma of misogyny. Spade is the deeply strange, deeply funny creation of Phil Nichol. In this show the no doubt decent Nichol doesn’t get a look in. Where Rich Hall brings on his alter-ego Otis Lee Crenshaw in the second half, Nichol comes on as Spade and goes off as Spade. And, boy, does he go off.
How far is too far? That’s the question which underlies the nihilistic versifying of Bobby Spade, white-suited barfly bard, the laureate of oedipal self-loathing who swims in a miasma of misogyny. Spade is the deeply strange, deeply funny creation of Phil Nichol. In this show the no doubt decent Nichol doesn’t get a look in. Where Rich Hall brings on his alter-ego Otis Lee Crenshaw in the second half, Nichol comes on as Spade and goes off as Spade. And, boy, does he go off.
Add comment
more Comedy
Jonathan Pie, Duke of York's Theatre review - spoof political reporter takes no prisoners
Tom Walker in a bravura display
Spencer Jones: Making Friends, Soho Theatre review - award-winning comedian mines his post-lockdown escape to the country
If big chickens scare you, this is your thing!
Six Chick Flicks, Leicester Square Theatre review - funny, frenetic and feminist spoof
Whip-smart parody of the genre
Pierre Novellie, Soho Theatre review - turning a heckle into a show
Thoughtful take on neurodivergence
Catherine Bohart, Soho Theatre review - girlfriends, gossip and gay parenthood
Full-throttle show from Irish comic
Miles Jupp, Cambridge Arts Theatre review - life's vicissitudes turned into laughs
Finding the funny in medical emergency
Andy Parsons, Touring review - reasons to be cheerful...
...Even if the country's falling apart
Bill Bailey: Thoughtifier, Brighton Centre review - offbeat adventures with a whirling, erudite mind
Bailey's fusion of studied musicality and off-the-wall wordplay remains one-of-a-kind
Paul Foot, Soho Theatre review - how to discover the meaning of life
Personal show from the absurdist comic
Jessica Fostekew, Soho Theatre review - age is just a number
Landmark birthday prompts some musings
Fascinating Aida, London Palladium review - celebrating 40 glorious years of filth and defiance
Age has not withered one jot the FAs' fury at the absurdities of modern life
Frank Skinner: 30 Years of Dirt, Gielgud Theatre review - a mature master of class-A smut
Has Skinner's act got less dirty over the years, or audiences more so?
Comments
...