REVIEW: REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL: SPECIFIC CABBAGE at Canal Cafe Theatre 24 Nov 2023

'Chaotic and hilariously bizarre in the best way possible.' ★★★★

Arthur and Kit take to the stage. Right away, we know what's about to happen. A deliciously awkward pair will try to make the audience laugh. Is it improv? Is it scripted? All we know is that these two people are going to make you forget your troubles for about an hour.

The two of them perform skit after skit, then ask the audience what they liked about it, essentially their 'reasons to be cheerful'. They pick three random audience members, write down their names on a board, then give them 'points' based on their answers. A very interesting idea that takes the improv concept in a different direction. To top it all off, their rapport with the audience is wholesome all the way through, with jokes and recurring bits popping up time and again.

The sketches? Well, where do we start? There's the wizard one, which everyone seems to be puzzled by. Then there are buzzfeed quizzes which keep getting weirder and weirder. Then musical numbers in which the audience tries to guess who wrote the songs. Then comes what is perhaps the most unexpected skit. Rowan Atkinson pitching Johnny English to a producer. A pop culture reference that thrives on satire. Just laugh-out-loud funny.

Their deliberately awkward humour works perfectly, and their physical comedy is top notch. And apart from the two of them, sound engineer Matt makes a special appearance. He is your typical straight-man crew member who just wants to be left alone when the two of them keep trying to interact with him. This felt like a classic live comedy trope which is always welcome and always funny.

Reasons To Be Cheerful is chaotic and hilariously bizarre in the best way possible. And even though some bits could have been slightly shorter to allow for more stuff to be in it without lagging, it is still thoroughly enjoyable, and the audience participation was stellar. 

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL: SPECIFIC CABBAGE

Canal Cafe Theatre, 24 November 2023

Written and performed by kit gale 

Comedy partner Arthur Drury

Production technician Matthew Fox

 

Carol Saint Martin is a screenwriter, playwright, pop culture blogger, magazine contributor and film host at the Cinema Museum. Her TV pilot DEADLINE, REDFERN CITY and her stage plays have reached the finals of several competitions.