On paper an evening with Noel Fielding held promise of a zany, silly, reality bending affair; and of course on these facets it didn’t disappoint.
A lifeless The Moon oversaw proceedings from the get go, looming over the audience as they took to their seats. The Moon comes to life and the show gets going!
The first half could almost be described as similar to that of any other normal stand up show. Actually scrap that…the very, very beginning of the first half could almost be described as slightly similar to that of a normal stand up show!
Fielding graces the stage in a Vince Noiresque shiny cape and spends the first portion musing about how he’s now over 40. A short audience interaction poll measured using the differing noises made by those under and over 40 confirms that indeed most of the people here could be closer to half that age.
You get the impression that Fielding feels as though this brand of humour could be less uncouth on someone younger …but then before you know it we unquestionably descend back to into the colourful and bizarre trappings of Fieldings mind.
This is the difference, Fielding just is this whacky, and just does exist in the crazy realities he portrays! Over 40 or not this humour works because it’s genuine. If you’re on board you’re on board and if you’re not you’re not.
If you’re on board you don’t need to question whether the dream he has as a tea bag aspiring to make it out of the cupboard makes sense. The use of spaghetti ladders seems entirely plausible! Similarly, why not entertain the idea that his wife cheated on him with a triangle. Utter nonsense, impossible, he’s not even married…but who cares!
By the time the second half starts the audience is completely immersed in Fieldings alternative reality and this is where we take a complete departure from any resemblance to a normal stand up show.
The comic has been kidnapped, possibly a rouse instigated by his understudy Antonio Banderas (Tom Meeten) in cahoots with The Moons alter ego The Dark Side of The Moon, or could it be that damned triangle? Fielding heads up the investigation dressed as New York Police Officer Raymond Boombox and interrogates nervous audience members using tennis technology hawk-eye (his brother Michael dressed as a fluffy bird) to determine whether they’re telling the truth or not.
Fieldings passion for the absurd is contagious and the characters used in this show (including the animated Joey Ramone) are perfect vehicles to translate this into a form that has audience members laughing all the way through.
Review by Amber Townshend
