ivyleebarron

An uproariously funny piece of comedy, complete with robots, Olympic champions, and a strong, clear message to take home.

Earlier this week, Rhys Darby took the stage at the Theatre Royal to perform his brand new stand up show; The Legend Returns, on the penultimate night of his UK tour. This show is filled with masterful callbacks and colourful characters—that Darby manages to play so well, you forget there’s only one person on the stage.

Darby managed to get the audience on-side immediately, partly due to his opener; Steve Wrigley who—as Darby put it—prepared us for the Kiwi humour we were about to see. Wrigley performed a clean thirty minutes of behind the scenes anecdotes, light crowd work and memorable (if slightly overdone) criticisms of generational quirks to get us started off. This opening act was a much needed energy boost to get everyone in the mood for laughing.

After a brief interval, Rhys Darby entered the stage and the show began. Darby utilises his knack for physical comedy successfully and consistently, giving us impressions of robot vacuum cleaners or cyber trucks. There is barely a still moment on the stage in the hour long show, which is a clear testament to his incredible stamina.

Not only does Darby nail the physical comedy—the sound effects he created live on stage are even more impressive than they are funny (which is saying something), and made for some fantastic storytelling. His talent for creating strange sounds is highlighted during his bit about wacky new Olympic events, where he uses a soundboard to create a song that unravels into a story about man on the railway line who refuses to leave. Within this story, Darby manages to fit; a police car blaring it’s siren, a helicopter circling the scene, and of course, a slow moving train—along with all sorts of fun character voices.

Despite all of this, most of the hour is taken up by Darby’s fantastical story about a not so distant future, where robots are planning a revolution against humanity. Accompanied by his trusted Rumba, Darby is the hero who manages to save humanity by preventing this disaster. While bizarre and silly at times, this story is a powerful warning about the dangers of generative AI. Through clever analogies and farcical humour, Darby tells us exactly how quickly AI could ruin our society, and chastises the billionaires who are profiting off of it. It is an incredibly powerful and relevant message, delivered in a way that will leave you thinking for a while.

All in all, a wonderfully entertaining show written from the heart. If you have a chance to catch Rhys Darby’s stand up show, you shouldn’t miss it!

A powerful depiction of grief that shines a light on society’s relationship with motherhood.

He Who Bends the Tall Grass by Simon Kielty is a modern take on folktale that comments on social issues such as bodily autonomy and parenthood. The show follows social worker Emily as she visits a couple in a small Scottish village, where she is forced to battle some inner (and outer) demons. Whether it’s an ancient entity made of wood, or a woman unable to biologically conceive—this play is very much about a longing for acceptance and purpose.

The plot concept and themes of this story are so complex that it could easily take up much longer, but Kieltydid an excellent job of keeping the play concise and contained to less than an hour. I found the writing in this show to be really fantastic, with small moments of humour woven in throughout the sinister storyline. The three-hander contained a great mix of snappy dialogue and hard-hitting monologues, which allowed the audience to get a real insight into the relationships between characters as well as a look at each character’s individual backgrounds and intentions.

The actors were perfectly believable in their roles, and the direction pushed every element of the show to its fullest potential. Logan Rogers in particular (who played the role of the husband, Alistair) adopted a bold and jarring “possessed” physicality near the end that worked really well for the piece. There were some beautiful images created with the colour contrasts and use of props—which just goes to show that it’s possible to create visually interesting theatre without a big-budget set.

The only gripe I have with the production as a whole is that it is perhaps more suited to a smaller, fringe-like venue. There were some really lovely, subtle moments that I think would have hit harder in an intimate space–and with direction and acting that works so well it would be a pity for someone further back to miss any of the nuances.

Overall, He Who Bends the Tall Grass is an excellent piece of new writing that acts as a clever social commentary.

Author: ivyleebarron

REVIEW: Rhys Darby -The Legend Returns

REVIEW: He Who Bends the Tall Grass