Jonathan Pie: Live

Tom Walker brings his viral internet creation, the furious news reporter Jonathan Pie, to the stage with a clever framing device that translates the short-form web rants into a full-length theatrical production. Filmed at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London, the show places Pie as a last-minute replacement host for a live BBC Children in Need broadcast. Supposedly waiting for his cues to cross over to London, Pie uses the off-air lulls to descend into furious, profanity-laced tirades about the media, political hypocrisy, and the state of the UK.

Having launched the character in 2015 and seen his popularity explode after a viral reaction to the 2016 US presidential election, Walker used this 2016 to 2017 tour to transition his online success to the stage. Co-written with Andrew Doyle, the material initially takes predictable aim at the Conservative government to win over his predominantly liberal crowd. However, Walker shifts his focus to the audience itself, arguing that echo chambers and left-wing self-righteousness paved the way for Brexit and Donald Trump. A memorable physical centerpiece features Pie wearing a heavy panda costume for the charity appeal, using the absurd outfit to lecture the crowd on class inequality.