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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Live: The Different Planet Tour

Lee Evans

Video Collection International · 1996 · 77 min

A high-speed hour of physical comedy and sweat-drenched observation.

Before he was filling modern arenas, Lee Evans was treating stage comedy like a cardiovascular event. His act is a document of pure aerobic output. He acts out marathon flatulence, demonstrates the mechanics of a disappearing microphone, and pantomimes a corporate boss giving himself a raise, throwing his entire skeleton into every premise. Even the standard observational setups, like complaining about a relaxation tape where the tide has gone out or arriving so late to a childhood egg-and-spoon race that he had to run with a live chicken, are sold with extreme facial elasticity.

Filmed at the Lyric Theatre in London’s West End at the end of a grueling 114-date tour, the 1996 release captures Evans just as his UK profile was rapidly expanding. He closes the show at the piano, bringing the volume down to sing his original track “Failure”.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Stage entrance mishaps

    Evans contends with hazardous stage steps, mistimed curtains, and uncooperative microphones in a sequence of pure physical comedy.

  2. Runaway piano

    Wheels a piano onto the stage that appears to roll out of control directly toward the front row of the audience.

  3. Hairdresser neck mat

    Observes that the protective rubber mat placed around your neck at the hairdresser is identical in shape to the mat placed around a toilet.

  4. Supermarket toilet roll tester

    Muses on the peculiar concept and duties of someone employed as a toilet roll tester for a supermarket.

  5. Boss giving himself a pay rise

    Performs a sketch satirizing a corporate boss who awards himself an unearned pay increase.

How it plays

Tone
Energetic, manic, observational, and profanity-laden.
On stage
Sweaty, manic physical performer with exaggerated facial expressions, rapid movements, and slapstick pratfalls, reminiscent of Norman Wisdom.
Pace
Relentlessly high-energy, fast-paced, running around the stage and stumbling across set pieces.
About
everyday life and mundane observations, physical mishaps and stage chaos, personal hygiene and grooming

What the critics said

Praised by viewers for Evans's extraordinary physical comedy, slapstick momentum, and verbal punchlines, though some critics felt the show was disorganized, dated in its joke-writing, and overly reliant on profanity.

In the room: Energetic, sold-out theatrical West End crowd.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: imdb.com, themoviedb.org, plotexplained.com, letterboxd.com, critifan.com, grokipedia.com.

Backstory

Opened at the Lyric Theatre in London's West End for a sold-out eight-week run before embarking on a 114-date British tour covering 4,500 miles across 63 towns.

Details

Released
Taped
Lyric Theatre, London
Runtime
77 min
Where
Video Collection International
Director
Tom Poole
Topics
Before
Live from the West End (1995)
After
The Ultimate Experience Live (1997)

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