And there we have it, our last previews of the year, and what a treat they were.
Two of my favourite people in comedy with incredibly different but superb work in progress shows, to the best comedy audience in the back room of Gullivers on the 23rd of October of this year.(Competition was low, but they set a high ass bar nonetheless.)
Chris Cantrill has long been an act that makes me howl with laughter unlike any other (seriously, the noises I make when he’s on stage can only be described as medically anomalous). I’ve been familiar with and a big fan of his work with The Delightful Sausage for many years now, but this is the first time I’ve seen him as a solo performer and it is everything I could’ve wanted and more.
It’s a cliché to say that Chris could read the phonebook and make it funny. I mean duh, who uses phone books these days, what a ridiculously farcical notion. But Chris is one of those acts who I think could make anything funny. Don’t let that fool you, his writing is also incredibly creatively sharp and the substance very much matches the style.
Despite being a very early work in progress for Edinburgh 2024, with Chris routinely stopping to explain how the show’s narrative is going to work when he’s finished writing it, which I honestly couldn’t tell you if that was true or genuinely part of the show, either way it worked. Chris channels his Vic and Bob energy, with the age of 40 looming over him and his life being so whimsically normal, represented honestly through the eyes of one of the least normal men I have ever had the pleasure to see.
If you want an accessible stand-up show about family life, Chris has got you covered. But if you also want to see an aging millennial epitomise the generation’s batshit sense of humour with some of the most creative writing you’ll see in a stand-up show possibly ever, Chris has got you covered there too.
It’s more grounded than the Sausage, but it’s still the same old sense of humour that shines in their back catalogue, just without all the weird characters and terrifying haunted ice cream costumes. Like if Frank Zappa decided to release an easy listening folk album. It might not be as overtly weird as you expect, but the man’s genius and best tropes are all accounted for and reflected in the product. Also Frank Zappa had like 200 albums, so maybe one of them is an easy listening folk album, I didn’t do my research, shut up.
Following Chris’ earnestly silly send up of approaching middle aged life, we had the ever delightful Maxine Wade, with one of the most emotionally shattering yet empowering hours I have seen in my life (and I’m a depressed millennial comedian, I’ve watched a LOT of these).
Breaking the record for number of content warnings in a single show (overtaking Hannah Platt if you can believe it), Maxine’s show is an autobiographical tale of living in and escaping from an abusive relationship. I absolutely couldn’t do the story justice, nor do I want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t yet seen it, but believe me when I say this show is an essential watch. Whether you’ve experienced abusive relationships first hand, observed them second hand, or are blissfully unaware of the concept in real life – Maxine’s tale draws you into the mindset of someone deep in cyclical domestic abuse experiences. She really conveys the gravity of the situation, balanced with some first class comedic punchlines for levity that sometimes cut nearly as deep as the deadpan harrowing accounts of the abuses.
Maxine is a master of camp both as a comedic tool and an accessible voice, making her so warm and trusting that she takes you along some incredibly dark events and pathways but not once do you forget this is a comedy show or want to stop listening. The pacing of the jokes is excellent, allowing the story room to breathe but not so sparse that it feels like a TED Talk.
The show narrative does at parts go from 0-99 very quickly, which I’m not sure if it is intentional or not, but honestly really works as a DV metaphor, where abuse often can seem to ramp up to extremes very quickly out of nowhere, whilst subtly building slowing in the background so it’s very difficult to notice until it gets to breaking point. It’s definitely a show you need to be in a safe headspace to enjoy. Judging by the audience, reaction Maxine did a terrific job in warming the audience up to it with her iconically camp slaggery reminiscent of Lily Savage and the great drag comedians of that era. Then she takes you along this incredibly bumpy ride, leaving the stage feeling like you’ve all gotten closer and bonded in solidarity, for everyone who’s experienced a relationship like this, anyone who’s witnessed it, and anyone who’s just learning for the first time what these relationships can actually look like.
She’ll make you laugh, she’ll make you cry, she’ll make you… no I’m not going to do a cum joke, I’m better than that. But you will leave this show for the first time a changed person, as Maxine artfully employs comedic tropes and skills to tell this brutally tough but ultimately happy ending story that needs to be told.
Wow, I wrote a lot just then. Both of these shows are great, but Maxine’s just has so much to unpack, and I barely scratched the surface of it! You should go and see both these shows when they’re next near you.
If you want more Blizzard goodness then we’ve got buckets full of that for you (and by that I mean 2 more before Christmas), the first of which is live now featuring Tom Mayhew, book your free tickets here on the 13th November, back at Gullivers.
