Last week, That Comedy Thing took place once again at The Lamb Inn in Eastbourne, on the South Coast of England, and, as always, the wealth of talent on show in the cosy 12th Century boozer was impressive. Robin Ince headlined the night, with less a routine, more a 40-minute rant from a man aghast, confused and angry at a world he increasingly fails to understand as he edges further into his forties. Red-faced, he breathlessly jumped from topic to topic in a performance that was filled with truths. Funny truths too.
Before him was the Canadian Mae Martin (pictured, below), who was natural and effortless as she chatted affably between playing some well-known covers on her acoustic guitar, replacing the lyrics with her own tales about - for instance - her unhealthy obsession with Don Cheadle. Her turn was especially pleasing in that she didn't reel off jokes, but just chatted away conversationally, as if she were just talking one-to-one with each member of the audience. Indeed, she was so engaging that I could have happily listened to her talk for 30 minutes without any musical interludes at all.
Before these two performances came the absolute triumph of the evening. Rachel Pantechnicon cleverly used repetition and a strange, awkward stage-presence to create a well-crafted character. Poems about elves on shelves and tiled bathrooms were rattled off at the kind of frenetic pace that demanded the audience kept up. Visual aids were frequently used, like the previously missing end section of the Bayeux Tapestry, which told of a plague of cats - one of which ended on William the Conqueror's head instead of a crown. Obviously it doesn't sound funny when I say it, but when spewing out of Pantechnicon's mad brain, such weird tales were side-burstingly hilarious.
The whole night was compered by organiser Joanna Neary (pictured at the top of the feature), who set the evening's warm tone with some chucklesome observations, some killer dance moves and a wicked impression of Bjork.
Neary deserves massive credit for putting on such a charming night and managing to attract such fine acts to a south coast town that isn't exactly on the circuit, so, if you live in the area and want to see more of these kind of events cropping up, then you need to put your full support behind That Comedy Thing. The event takes place on the first Tuesday of every month, so email thatcomedything@gmail.com to get yourself put on the mailing list.
Review by Rob Townsend.
