You might, like me, emit an inward noise of recognition upon learning that Matt Price was one of two comedians booked to play Broadmoor last year, an event out of which The Sun made considerable hate-filled currency.

Such organs thrive on their symbiosis with people’s fear, suspicion, and anger, and these phenomena – the ways we choose to act towards and feel about other people – echo through Price’s excellent show.

That might sound a little ponderous for comedy, and it’s true that, while there’re certainly laughs to be had here, this isn’t the flat-out funniest show you’ll see.

It might, however, be the most moving and emotionally compelling. It’s fundamentally well-written, but, when the subject matter is as dark and melancholy and even horrifying as it sometimes is here, the delivery is all-important, and Price has a terrific gift for storytelling.

Neither inappropriately flippant nor tediously sententious, neither melodramatic nor self-pitying, this is really a tremendous, at times mesmerising performance, lyrical in its straightforwardness.

If there is one quibble it is that the routine falls into two halves. The first is based around that Broadmoor gig; the second around the event mentioned in the show’s title and its consequences.

The thematic links between the two are thoughtful and interesting: when faced with tragedy and violence, what can a comedian do? What can a man do? Can he save the world, or even just himself, through a gig?

But the first half is more conventional, more jokey, and though I can see the appeal of buffering the impact of the second, more challenging half, it is in that second half that the strength of the show really lies, and I wonder if altering the balance of the routine wouldn’t make it even better.

In any case, this is far outside the usual domain of the stand-up routine, a meal of substance after a day of sugary knob gag snacks.

Highly recommended.

Alex Brenner

Matt Price is appearing at the GRV as part of the Five Pound Fringe! Find out more here!

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