‘I thought I was in for an hour of well crafted surprises and silliness but what it actually felt like was a work-in-progress show’
Off the back of competing (and losing) in the most recent series, Series 20 of Taskmaster, Phil Ellis is now on tour, beginning his five-month stretch with five sold-out nights at Soho Theatre. Bath Mat is described as a “brand-new show”, yet the friend who accompanied me had seen Ellis twice before and noted material she had heard on both occasions, four years ago.
Opening with his “Hype Man”, who has the amusing vibe of a slightly odd nephew, Tom primed the audience to see the “best show ever” performed by the “biggest loser”. I thought I was in for an hour of well-crafted surprises and silliness, but what it actually felt like was a work-in-progress show. Technical faults, such as the PowerPoint slideshow of stock dog images falling out of sync during what could have been a funny and odd song, overshadowed the enjoyment of the tune. The resulting technical and physical chaos felt less like rehearsed disorder and more like things simply going wrong.
Ellis even spoke about the importance of momentum in comedy, and there were moments in the show that were quick, sharp, and well delivered. But these were often undercut by abrupt changes in rhythm or narrative, followed by Ellis’s own snickering, which further stalled the flow. The show’s structure was quite piecemeal. Ellis dips his toe into various comedy styles: songs, slapstick, visual humour (the PowerPoint), clowning, and audience interaction. Crucially, the show’s main point remains unclear. His material touches on his home life and living in Preston, and while these stories were nuanced and often fun, their order and delivery felt a bit like spaghetti thrown at a wall. He would begin a story, segue away, and then choose not to finish it, creating the sense of real-time editing and rearranging.
This disjointedness stems largely from the lack of a clear concept or through-line. The title, Bath Mat, gives no clue as to what the show is about, nor is a bath mat ever mentioned in the content. This makes it difficult for the audience, and perhaps even Ellis himself, to ground themselves in anything certain.
However, I may have caught him on an off night. His jokes about a kestrel and smoke alarms landed very well, but others missed. Halfway through the show, Ellis, in a slightly strained yet frantically “keeping it cool” manner, asked Tom how long he had left. He also checked his watch several times. It is always unnerving when a comedian does this; it is something I would expect from a newcomer or a WIP show, but not from a comedian of his calibre who has just begun a long tour.
All things considered, it is clear Phil Ellis is a funny man, and perhaps this was his aim: to ironically not put on the “best show ever”. However, if that was the intention, it did not feel deliberate enough. I think of Acorn Antiques or the more blatant work by Mischief Theatre, both great examples of well-rehearsed organised chaos. If Ellis was attempting something similar, something needs to shift, as the show currently sits in the grey area between messy and planned. There was also a reliance on the unspoken expectation that the audience were already fans. I had never seen a Phil Ellis show, and I believe this put me at a disadvantage, which really should not be the case. If your material neglects newcomers, how are you meant to get them on your side and make them laugh?
I would be interested to see another Phil Ellis show, hopefully with a cleaner delivery.