Review: Lonely Stupid Violence

‘I’m completely hacking you with the comedy virus’

Content Warning: Blood, suicide, suggestive material.

This might be the most I’ve laughed at a Cambridge show. It was so unexpected, so strange, so incredibly strange. Let’s just say, I wasn’t expecting some random guy to suck on the mic on Tuesday night, but I saw it anyway.

It’s a stand-up special of a man desperately trying to gain validation, as well as a sketch show and a depiction of a man’s transition from slightly unstable to completely insane. Murder? To present. The silly puns that the audience loved? To present. The foolish Samaritan? To present.

Frankie BrowneAs himself – the main character, the comedian, the narrator, the guy who loses his mind before your eyes – he was absolutely brilliant. His performance was incredibly realistic: from mumbling and stuttering, to showing his shyness, to staring wildly at the audience, desperately waiting for a reaction. The way he delivered his lines was astonishing, with every joke landing perfectly. The audience loved Frankie; He was very charismatic in his incompetence and madness.

Although Frankie seems alone in his madness, this isn’t entirely a one-man show; There are co-stars who sometimes feel real and sometimes imaginary. The rest of the cast did an incredible job portraying these characters. Martha Alexander it was great. He managed to convey shock, fear, acceptance and despair in the same scene. He was the voice of reason held hostage. Seeing him tied to a chair and Frankie covered in blood making a drawing about the ridiculously expensive babyccino was such a surreal sight to see on stage and yet it fit the show perfectly. James AllenHe gave a great, albeit short, performance as one of the cops. His one-liners were expertly delivered and, like the other jokes in the show, had an incredible impact with the audience. Jenny Jones The Samaritan was amazing and his character was written so well that it was both implausible and yet incredibly in line with the logic of the show.

The actors were also the show’s creators, and I have to say, everyone in the writers’ room is truly talented (Martha Alexander, James Allen, Dom Andrew, Helen Brookes, Jenny Jones, Aidan Sinclair, Frankie Browne). This was such a well-written show that there wasn’t a moment when the audience wasn’t engaged, which is truly impressive. The transitions from creepy and unsettling to extremely funny and ridiculous were masterful and the right parts were exaggerated. The show was meta without losing balance. The comedy was perfectly executed with the words, the body language, the juxtaposition of the extremely serious with the absurdly frivolous. All nuances have been considered; Everything was done very beautifully.

The audience interactions were amazing and the random panto-like questions were hilarious. “Isn’t this exciting, boys and girls?!” It was certainly surprising to be told that the hero called for the Samaritans when he was trying to talk himself out of committing suicide. I’ll be reviewing the ADC panto in a few days and I really wasn’t expecting to see this kind of audience engagement in this comedy-horror series, but it was a great addition. And fake audience interactions Dom Andrew It was among my favorite episodes of the show. Dom’s overall performance was amazing and his chemistry with Frankie was incredible.

Image credit: Jenny Jones

This show is phenomenally done and masterfully written. The script, the actors, the lights, the music, the minimalist decor, it all came together flawlessly. From existential crises to jokes about visual impairment, this show has it all. It’s so unexpected and that makes it great.

Lonely Stupid Violent is a dazzling spectacle and certainly deserved the loud cheers and standing ovation it received from the awestruck Corpus Playroom audience. I’m a little disappointed that this was just a one night stand and hope the show is remade.

This is a masterpiece.

5/5

Lonely Stupid Violent premiered at Corpus Playroom on Tuesday, November 26.