Michael Legge & Rich Fulcher
The Phoenix, Cavendish Sq, W1G 0PP.
July 24th, 2011.
So, as it goes, it's been a year since I was last at The Phoenix for the Precious Little party. The time has flown by, and Michael Legge has drawn me back to the venue once again. I meant to return earlier, but it wasn't to be. Hey, ho.
'Curse Sir Walter Raleigh'
Michael Legge's show centres around good manners, their importance, and people's frequent lack of them in this modern society. If that sounds a bit serious, it's not. Michael recounts the time his father lied to him as a child over a plastic drainpipe, the time he was rescued by Hunter out of Gladiators, and the time he demanded the shoe of a youth on a train.
If you're familiar with Michael's blog or podcast, you'll know that he spends a disproportionate amount of time arguing with people on trains. You'll also know that they bloody deserve it, and he has far more patience than the rest of us when it comes to the public.
The show is around an hour long (with a target time of 55 minutes), and absolutely zips by. I've seen Michael performing some of the stories live before, and heard/read others, but because the show's anecdotal rather than a series of gags, the entertainment comes in the delivery as much as the content. In short, it doesn't matter if you've heard the tale, it's still great.
"Give me your shoe!" never gets old.
'Tiny Acts of Rebellion'
Rich Fulcher's set acts in many ways as a counterpoint to '...Raleigh', given that it's about finding small ways to throw a spanner in the works. It's not about being rude, just about stopping people in their tracks, often out of absolute confusion.
I'd seen Rich live as part of The Mighty Boosh, but wasn't familiar with his solo work. For a large part of the show, he reads from a sheaf of paper in a faux-stilted delivery, which I suspect might only be a half affectation. It works very well though. His persona of naive, nervous bluster, goes nicely with the mild, petty anarchy of the subject.
Rich selects people from the audience to join him on-stage at several points, all of it good natured. First up was me*1, and Rich and I ate gazpacho soup then chocolate cake. With our hands. No, we didn't wipe our hands in between courses. Apparently Mr Fulcher was surprised that I joined him in dessert, as not many of his guests do. Odd, that.
Photo courtesy of Neal 55 who, thanks to an impromptu sing-song which he was too good-mannered to stop, now has two birthdays. His actual one, and his official one on July 24th.
Rich Fulcher performed the final half of his hour-long set with chocolate cake smeared around his mouth.
My hands smelled of soup for the next 18 hours.
All in all: An excellent day. It was hugely convenient for me that the show started at 3pm, as it makes the journey to/from London way more viable. And who can argue with two hours of quality standup for £5? No-one, that's who.
Further shout-outs go to Andy McH, Gordy, Wendy, Simon, MushyBees Simon, and Laura, who I can recommend following if you're on that Twitter thing.
If not, get the hell on that Twitter thing. It's like Facebook, only neater and with less bullshit.
Michael Legge is on Twitter here, and you can buy tickets for his CSWR show at Edinburgh here.
Rich Fulcher is also on Twitter, and you can buy tickets for TAoR here.
*1 I should point out that I didn't volunteer for this, I was selected. But when Rich Fulcher asks you to join him for dinner, you say yes.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
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