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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

I'm About to Lose Control and I Think Joe Lycett

Joe Lycett

Prime Video · 2018 · 74 min

Petty internet trolling elevated to a sold-out theatre show.

Watch it free on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Joe Lycett has found a highly lucrative niche in being incredibly petty. While most of his peers rely on traditional observational stand-up or deeply personal confessions, Lycett spends his time on stage pointing a clicker at a projector screen and explaining exactly how he managed to wind up a high-street bank or an Olympic diver.\n\nFilmed at a sold-out Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith, London, the 74-minute show captures Lycett at a pivotal moment in his career. In 2018, he was transitioning from a reliable TV panel show guest on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown to a theatre-packing headliner in his own right. The tour required a scale of venue he hadn’t yet tackled, but his low-stakes, high-nuisance style of comedy proved perfectly suited for the bigger stage.\n\nThe centerpiece of the performance relies on his chronic inability to leave well enough alone. He recounts sneaking a bottle of wine into an RBS building where his friend Peter worked, signing in at security under the alias ‘Rhubarb Bikini,’ and the bureaucratic headache that ensued. He also details an Instagram feud with Olympic diver Tom Daley over a Barclays-sponsored Pride appearance, a bit that manages to sneak in some genuine commentary on corporate pinkwashing between the jokes. Along the way, there are stories about speed-awareness courses in the Black Country, bad art, and a chaotic interval game where Lycett has the audience tweet him suggestion after suggestion.

The set list

4 bits

  1. Attempting dry January and navigating awkward physical side effects at home.

    Recounts living with his parents, experiencing morning arousal, and attempting to hide it while descending the stairs.

  2. Visiting a pharmacy for nutritional deficiencies and ending up on pregnancy multivitamins.

    Describes finding out the only multivitamin containing all his missing nutrients was designed for pregnant women, adopting stereotypical behaviors.

  3. A dispute with a corporate bank involving a visitor badge.

    Explains how a joke with a false name on an office security pass triggered an extensive corporate review by the financial institution.

  4. Mischievous interactions with corporations, celebrities, and social media figures.

    Shares elaborate email correspondences, internet pranks, and fabricated personas designed to waste time and expose absurdity.

How it plays

Tone
Playful, sarcastic, cheeky, and irreverent.
On stage
Mischievous, camp, and sarcastically sharp, blending childlike silliness with clever, articulate irritation.
Pace
Conversational, cheeky, and relaxed with theatrical storytelling beats.
About
online trolling, corporate bureaucracy and banking disputes, lifestyle choices and dry January, getting older and peers having children, modern social media interactions

What the critics said

Praised by regional reviewers for razor-sharp comedic timing, biting wit, and an effortless ability to weave digital escapades into live stage storytelling.

In the room: Enthusiastic and engaged crowd participating readily in improvisational banter.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: sky.com, play.google.com, themoviedb.org, allmovie.com, oxfordmail.co.uk, chortle.co.uk, theargus.co.uk, comedy.co.uk, en.wikipedia.org.

Backstory

Toured during a period of rising public profile fueled by UK comedy broadcasts such as Taskmaster and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.

Details

Released
Taped
Eventim Apollo, London
Runtime
74 min
Where
Prime Video
Director
Brian Klein
Topics
Before
That's The Way, A-Ha A-Ha, Joe Lycett – Live (2016)

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