Skip to content
Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Limboland

Bill Bailey

2018 · 74 min

A blend of eccentric musical parodies and self-effacing storytelling.

The central premise of Bill Bailey’s show is the vast distance between human expectations and reality. The veteran English comic sits at his keyboards, guitars, and assorted loop pedals, using music to expose the friction of modern life. Rather than playing the massive arenas he had frequented in previous years, this performance, filmed at the Hammersmith Apollo in London and released in late 2018, captures him in a more intimate theater environment. While early portions of the set address political figures like Jeremy Corbyn and Donald Trump, the core of the material is personal and highly specific. He tells a sprawling story about a disastrous family dog-sledding holiday in Norway that went completely awry, and recounts his failed attempts to explain Skype to his aging father. Bailey’s musical setups remain a primary draw as he transforms the standard, cheerless iPhone ringtone into a dance track, plays a melancholy country ballad using a Bible as an instrument, and performs a minor-key variation of “Happy Birthday” that sounds like a 1930s Berlin cabaret number. The show finishes with a self-effacing anecdote about meeting Paul McCartney, where a starstruck Bailey accidentally pokes the former Beatle in the eye. Critics warmly received the performance, noting that it successfully prioritizes narrative storytelling alongside his trademark musical whimsy.

The set list

6 bits

  1. Downbeat version of 'Happy Birthday'

    Deconstructs and modulates the classic celebration tune into a minor-key 1930s Berlin cabaret number and rhapsody of fear

  2. Disastrous meeting with Sir Paul McCartney

    Self-mockingly recounts becoming completely speechless and tongue-tied when introduced to the music legend

  3. Family trip to Norway to see the Northern Lights

    Recounts a chaotic family holiday disaster involving dog sledding gone wrong

  4. Explaining Skype to his father

    Observational routine about the technological challenges of explaining video calling to an octogenarian parent

  5. Country and western ballad played on a Bible

    Performs a heart-rending musical parody exploring the nature of love using a Bible as an instrument

  6. iPhone ringtone dance remix

    Transforms the default smartphone ringtone into a high-energy dance track

How it plays

Tone
Playful, absurd, self-mocking, and philosophical
On stage
Whimsical, bewildered, intellectually sharp, grumblingly upbeat, and musically gifted
Pace
Consistently quick yet meandering, shifting effortlessly between narrative anecdotes and musical demonstrations
About
The gap between expectation and reality, The true nature of happiness and contentment, Modern politics and cynicism, Family travel disasters, Technology and communication

What the critics said

Universally praised by critics as Bailey returning to his blithe best, blending joyous whimsy, sharp topical satire, and virtuosic musical parody

In the room: Rapturous, enthusiastic theater crowd fully engaged with the musical and storytelling set pieces

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: bbc.co.uk, glassboxproductions.co.uk, comedy.co.uk, letterboxd.com, beyondthejoke.co.uk, timeout.com, smh.com.au, thetimes.com, imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, themoviedb.org.

Backstory

Performed and released in a period of shifting UK and global politics (Jeremy Corbyn's Labour leadership, Donald Trump, David Cameron) and pre-lockdown live performance culture, exploring personal middle-age limbo and the nature of happiness

Details

Released
Taped
Hammersmith Apollo
Runtime
74 min
Director
Russell Thomas
Honors
The Guardian - Four Stars (★★★★)Time Out - Four Stars (★★★★)
Topics
Before
Part Troll (2004)
After
Larks in Transit (2021)

More from Bill Bailey

If you liked this