Matchstick
Comedy Dynamics · 2019 · 55 min
London stand-up shifting from bus etiquette to the Grenfell disaster.
Released , on Comedy Dynamics.
Archie Maddocks spends a good chunk of Matchstick preemptively defending himself. After recounting an uncomfortable staring contest with an infant on a London bus, he rushes to explain that the baby started it before anyone in the room or online can accuse him of something inappropriate. That anxious habit of making an observation and immediately walking it back gives the set its comedic spine.
He covers growing up mixed-race in affluent St John’s Wood, his frustrations with London gentrification, and visiting family in Trinidad, where a freezing church air conditioner drove an elder to pray aloud for Jesus to turn up the heat.
The tone changes sharply in the final third. Maddocks lived near Grenfell Tower and personally knew people who died in the 2017 fire. He addresses the aftermath without slipping into easy rhetoric, focusing instead on how quickly public sympathy waned and how local residents banded together in the absence of institutional support.
Directed by Sophia Charalambous, the 55-minute set was recorded for NextUp following its run at Just the Tonic at The Mash House during the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Maddocks was working with the BBC Writersroom around the same period, shortly before his stage writing earned Olivier and Bruntwood Prize attention.
Notable bits & set list
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Interrogating his personal connection to Grenfell Tower and the community response
A moving, serious reflection on the tragedy, state failure, community strength, and injustice.
-
Proper toilet technique and wiping your bottom
Light, silly toilet humor engaging the audience directly on whether they know how to wipe properly.
-
Exchanging looks with a baby on a public bus
Rapidly clarifying that the baby initiated the eye contact to avoid immediate misinterpretation and accusations on social media.
-
Visiting relatives in Trinidad and attending a frigid Pentecostalist church service
Anecdote about freezing air conditioning leading a church elder to pray to Jesus to turn on the heating.
-
Growing up in St John's Wood in North-West London during the Eighties and Nineties
Reflecting on his upbringing, local snobbery, and urban life without resorting to cliches.
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Disgusting things to do to a banana
Absurd, graphic comic revelation.
How it plays
- Tone
- Provocative, unflinching, and biting, balancing candid, silly toilet humor with earnest, moving, and serious social commentary.
- On stage
- Described as cool, smart, humble, and a natural orator with an authentic, relaxed, and conversational storytelling style.
- Pace
- Builds tension and release; uses rapid clarifying retractions of provocative remarks and drives momentum with audience callbacks.
- About
- Grenfell Tower tragedy and justice, growing up in St John's Wood, London, toilet technique and hygiene, male body image, gentrification and community, relationships and family
What the critics said
Praised as an earnest, thoughtful, and moving piece of social commentary that effectively balanced crude silliness with poignant real-world drama, though reviewers noted early audience interaction sections were slightly formulaic.
In the room: Engaged and responsive to the tension and release of personal anecdotes, with Maddocks occasionally addressing or calling out quiet rooms directly.
Backstory
Centered on Maddocks' personal connection to the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy—with the title referencing the appearance of the burnt tower—and used in part as a platform to raise funds and awareness for the community and justice campaign.
Details
- Released
- Runtime
- 55 min
- Where
- Comedy Dynamics
- Director
- Sophia Charalambous
- Topics
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