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Rhod Gilbert
with Markus Birdman and Micky Flanagan
- Backyard Comedy Club, Bethnal Green, London
- 17 March 2007
Goose-stepping, mockney jibes and a nationalistic take on Welsh weather made for a fine night at the Backyard
At least the Welsh in the audience appreciated Rhod Gilbert’s view on Cardiff’s weather: "Wet? I was eight before I realised I could take off my Kagool!" A touch lost on people who hadn’t experienced rain in Wales – no surprise, we were in Bethnal Green – and that about summed up Rhod’s set. It was a stop-start affair not quite tailored to the audience.
Markus Birdman eased himself into his set with a few idle threats: "I’m a Cockney, I’ll cut ya, you muppet!" Birdman’s energy soon moved the subject on to the under appreciation of the goosestep ("Sure the Nazis got some things wrong…")
His breakneck approach reaps rewards because his material is fairly good, but mostly because he has excellent timing. His only downside is a penchant for some terribly cheesy punch lines.
Teenage pregnancy and disaffected youth are not the usual bastions of comedy, but Micky Flanagan’s set took the audience effortlessly through both. Flanagan has a languid, self-effacing and pessimistic stage presence that relaxes the crowd, allowing him to ease them into his surreally inventive world.
James Rutherford
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