Phill Jupitus: Review

Phill’s improvisational comedy show was always going to be a risky venture and, as he confided to us while signing tickets afterwards, there have been a few nights that have ended up as complete flops. I luckily did not, however, experience one of those nights. Although the audience was fairly small in the upstairs theatre of the Arts Centre, its members were engaged and active with their questions. One of the dangers of performing improvisational comedy is ‘corpsing’ – laughing at your own jokes and breaking character – which Phill fell victim to a few times here, turning away and puffing at his pipe to hide the laughter. It did give the show a more organic feel and displayed one of Phill’s main reasons for choosing this avenue of comedy; he can enjoy the show as much as the audience.

Phill’s first character, Vernon Herschel-Harley, a retired veteran of the stage, focused his jokes around a liking of sado-masochistic sex, a common theatrical stereotype, but one Phill played with hilariously.

The second character, Kurt Schiffer, a deceased German submarine captain, was perhaps the best of the night. A running joke was established in which the character had founded a chain of German-Irish pubs along the coast of Mexico during the war, which led to some moments of comedic brilliance. When an audience member asked about the pub’s menu, Phill replied, “Well, German and Irish cuisine is very limited so it’s mainly just potatoes and sausages. But one night a year, we do a specials menu to honour the Irish potato famine; you can only get sausages.” Despite the roars of laughter this provoked, it fell second best to the crowning joke of the night which came a few minutes later when someone asked whether they stocked any German-Irish beer to which Phill answered, “Well, you can’t have an Irish pub without doing Guinness. So it’s mainly just Guinness… but we put a swastika in the foam.” He just managed to enact a rough mime of a bartender pulling a pint with a swastika in the foam before literally collapsing on the ground with laughter.

The final character, ‘Future Phill’, was explained in a lengthy monologue about a futuristic technology which could project holograms into the past. The premise was that these holograms were highly illegal and tended to be shut down by the government, leaving Phill an open door for ending the show in whatever manner he wished. A particularly quick-witted response came in answer to a question about the Eurozone, as Phill went on a surreal explanation of Angela Merkel implementing geese as the new European currency – but running into trouble when all our money migrated south.

The show’s organic and adaptable feel that ensured the audience were not just receiving a rehearsed set of jokes and laughing at the punchlines, but were an integrated part of the creation of the performance. The potential for slower, less riveting moments wasn’t entirely avoided and improvisation certainly isn’t the easiest option for a new comedy show, nor is it the right option for every comedian. For a talented one such as Phill, though, who had the skills to make it work, the risk was worth it to produce an entertaining experience that wasn’t quite so run of the mill.

Phill is touring throughout the summer and will be at Edinburgh Fringe, for his tour dates click here.