The Beast's Pen

When a mountaineer was asked why he climbed Everest, he replied “because it was there”. Similarly, my explanation for being at this show is that I happened to be in the Soho Theatre as it was about to start. The show is a collection of modern-themed comic songs performed by a masked Irish duo, their DJ and a puppet of Gabriel Byrne. To be fair to them all, they clearly have a devoted following and it is not their fault that this brand of in-your-face comedy is just not my thing. I prefer humour that is laced with at least a little subtlety and wit, rather than that which relies for its laughs on almost every other word uttered beginning with an “f” and being the same word. One consolation was that the audience was made to stand, making this show a lot more comfortable than many others at this venue; indeed many of my fellow audience members relished the opportunity to gather in circles and converse, shouting to make themselves heard over the din coming from the stage. This misspent hour felt like something I could have stumbled across on a drunken late evening at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival; happily, that is an experience that I will now never have.