Tim Key is standing up on stage as the ‘doors’ (actually curtains in this venue) open to admit his audience.
He silently observes, undoubtedly selecting ‘victims’ to address during Mulberry, occasionally raising his eyebrows and nodding – just once – if eye contact is made. Then he exits the stage before making a proper entrance through the crowd, still sporting an iso-friendly steel-blue velour tracksuit.
Key negotiated lockdown solo, which inspired his new book – Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush: An Anthology Of Poems & Conversations (From Outside) – and also this show, which intersperses his absurd, melancholy poetry (eg. “I took off my mask/ No mouth!”) – recited from the backs of playing cards – with stand-up and audience engagement (mainly just targeting seated individuals or tuning into yelled-out responses).
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Mulberry’s premise claims Key was on the cusp of “household name” status: he’d just recently (well, in 2009) won the Edinburgh Comedy Award, was about to appear on Pointless Celebrities and his agent was suggesting he “play a pedo in Death In Paradise”, we’re told. But then the global pandemic and lockdown (nicknamed “Locky D” by Key) ruined everything and now he’s performing in the Lower Town Hall – Key emphasises Lower, with trademark cheeky glint in his eye.
The stage is bookended by two props: a front door and a magnet-covered, beer-filled fridge. Not long into the show, Key selects a front-row dude to hold/pass up his tinny when he looks thirsty. Later, this dude also doubles as Key’s stagehand, hoisting him up on top of the fridge and helping him lift his front door back up after it falls over.
Insights into Key’s iso experience are fertile ground for comedy: for company, he purchased an “adult stuffed bear” from Amazon, named it Fortoss (yep, he spells it out) and ended up sewing his virtual assistant, Alexa, inside it. He hilariously describes mums making masks as “drunken hags squatting over their materials” and also boasts, “Obviously everyone wanted me in their bubble, of course they did!”
Then Key describes his version of career rock bottom: tuning into University Challenge and witnessing the gormless contestants unanimously stumped when shown his picture and asked to “name this UK comedian”. And as for the finale’s reveal, starring Fortoss – what a show-stopper!
We mostly love Key from his role as Sidekick Simon in the Alan Partridge franchise, but his stand-up is equal parts bonkers and brilliant. The ease with which Key teases and engages his audience, and the subtle genius of Mulberry’s structure, make this show unmissable.
Shout-out to the sound desk: Music is utilised to great effect throughout, with Key often addressing the sound desk (“Lose the music, let’s hear this lady’s story!”) or simply barking, “Music!” to cue it back in when he wants to drown out a particularly long-winded or boring punter story. As Key announces “the boozers reopened”, audience members laugh as they recognise the opening guitar strains of The Beatles’ Here Comes The Sun – genius! – and I Want To Hold Your Hand aptly plays us out.
Audience participation: If an audience member’s answer isn’t interesting enough for Key, he hilariously quips, “Nope, don’t wanna know” (or some such silencing quip), before seeking out a response that’s more to his liking to rub it in: “You see? That’s the idea.”
Best bit: “‘Get your jabs, you selfish cunts!’ No one had really seen the Queen like this before.”
Number of legit LOLs: “Laughter fills the room like a contagion” – this line from one of Key’s poems rings true.
Find out more about Tim Key here.
