Monkey Barrel 4
Aug 9-27 (21:15)
Gaudeamus Igitur
I have not tried psychedelic drugs, but I imagine that they would induce the kind of blissful escape from mundanity that I experience during this show.
A sold out room erupts into rolling laughter seconds after Mat Ewins walks on stage. The laughter doesn’t stop for the entire hour. Mat walks a line between madness and genius with silly gags, tech wizardry and live commentary from his 1000 tiktok followers, who he is broadcasting the show to.
He wants to make it big on TikTok. He shows us some of his ridiculous, gross and hilarious TikTok videos on a projector screen, where we can also see the comments from his live stream viewers. He is being digitally heckled by strangers, with an avatar version of himself occasionally biting back. I can’t articulate what goes on in this show, because I don’t understand it. I felt like my mind was blown open and then hijacked by a divine trickster.
Mat manically rants his frustration that there are no original ideas on television and tells us about his unsuccessful TV pitches. His agents told him his ideas are too wacky. He did manage to get on telly, but he shows us how his joke was taken out of context in an attempt to cancel him. It’s now his opinion that the only two routes to comedic success in the digital age, is to make it on TikTok or start a free speech podcast.
This is a surreal, madcap manifestation of comedy. It’s completely bonkers, but in a wonderful way. There’s a lot of audience interaction, both online and in the room. Creating a polarity which eventually leads to a big bang when the two worlds collide. Bringing us all to a satisfying climax.
Samantha Pressdee
Mumble Comedy 