This zesty physical comedy squeezes sunshine into the eyeballs of everyone in the room. There is something timeless and strangely utopian about this theatrical florescent orange world, complete with imperfect inanimate objects that become electrically charged with Luke’s energy, offering a new reality.
We are transported from an Edinburgh nightclub room to a surrealist state-of-mind with the sense the ancient art form of clowning has provided answers to questions we didn’t know we needed to ask like ‘Why is this so funny’. Luke is skilful at gathering modern day anxiety into a room, making it silly and funny with the help of some excellent audience interaction, finding a way through together.
There are hundreds of props, and every single one was curated to seamlessly configure a show that maintains its pace, relentlessly finding humour in all things physical, object and form. A special mention must go to Mikey Bligh-Smith from The Lovely Boys, who plays a sofa and whose rendition of a song called ‘bum imprints’ unexpectedly and unexplainably brought me to tears. Yep.
Luke physically embodies comedy at cellular level, and as the non-sensical story permeates our hearts and minds, we experience a cathartic comedy experience that reminds us of the joy of visual arts.
Perfectly pitched for every audience member, be it the uninitiated or seasoned alternative comedy viewer, he creates a space electrically charged to delight, bring back live comedy with a lightning strike.
This show is ideal for anyone looking for a show to remind themselves of the silliness of shared humanity. It was also heartening to hear the bellyfuls of laughter from fellow audience members, glad to experience this luminous live comedy show after the curtain came down in March 2020.
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Show: Luke Rollason: Bowerbird Venue: Monkey Barrel (The Hive) Time: 12:30pm (60 mins) Date: Until 28 August (except 17th) Ticket price: £5 Ticket link: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/luke-rollason-bowerbird
