Phil Nichols - PLeasance Grand

[green_amber]

THis was where I took yesterday's pictures:-)

I thougt this was going to be just another stand up, having picked up a a spare ticket from Snotnose and knowing it was a sell out as he'd won the Perrier the year before. In the event it turned out it was the last show of the run; the Beeb were filming it; it was hopelessly over running so it started after midnight and went on till after one; and the guy who was clearly mad on speed./ all this added up to an INTERESTING evening. It was meant to be a story about passive resistance in Amsterdam, but he kept diverging into talking about fucking and fisting, people walked out in droves, hecklers wandered on to the stage, there was nearly a fight, then he took all his clothes off to make some kind of a point, then it turned out he'd got HUNDREDS of people to wander around and on stage naked giving out flowers and singing "No more war".

I felt I got my money's worth:)

Comments

[likeneontubing.livejournal.com]

bloody hell! i wonder if the beeb will show that?

[blue-condition.livejournal.com]

Was it actually funny though?

[surliminal.livejournal.com]

Actually not much. Which is probably as much why people walked out as the blue content I suspect - plus it was running so late people were probably about to miss last trains/buses. he was clearly capable of doing good comedy (he stopped and said "you want gags? is tat what you want?" and did a string of gags) - it just wasn't where he was at. I enjoyed it as a theatrical event:) The people I was with were mostly unimpressed.

[blue-condition.livejournal.com]

I don't mind boundary-pushing. I don't mind filth. I don't mind "do I shock you?"

But a comedian's purpose is to make me laugh. ;)

[julia-winolj.livejournal.com]

I agree - and he sure missed the boat on this one.

At one point he verbally abused a woman for almost 5 minutes for (admittedly somewhat stupidly) making the wistful pronouncement that she'd thought they were going to see Jerry Sadowitz. I can see this would be annoying for a performer as her inference was (correctly) that JS was much funnier. However, shrieking words like "cunt" and "fishy minge" at her for an extended period, and then saying that he was simply channeling Jerry Sadowitz simply underlined the point that she was making - he just wasn't as funny.

Quite enjoyed the naked people jumping up and down on the stage and dancing - all those wobbly willies - now that was funny.

[surliminal.livejournal.com]

Yeh I was very unhappy with abusing the woman part - it `crossed the line from a kind of gonzo event I was quite enjoying there into something else I wished Y's children weren't at.