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Austerity BingeAt Last! The 1981 Show at the Festival Hall ★★★★

By Clive Davis in The TImes Posted on Monday, May 30th, 2011

Now that comedy is part of the Establishment it is good to be reminded that there was a time when stand-ups were angry young men (and the occasional woman) banging on the window, demanding to be heard. Part of Stewart Lee’s Austerity Binge mini-festival, this gathering from the lost era of alternative comedy produced a suitably anarchic jumble of old punchlines.

Too long an evening? Of course it was. Events like this always are. We could have done without a second interval, and you really had to be a dauntless connoisseur of eccentric pop to stay for the climactic set by the ultra-kitsch, ninja-loving Frank Chickens. The street poet John Cooper Clarke rambled on and on as well. Yes, it was funny to see the manic Chris Lynam strip naked and dance with a firework stuck up his bottom, but by that stage some of us were too tired to work out why we were laughing.

The majority of the gems were crammed into the first two hours. Arthur Smith, the co-host, set the tone early on with his self-mocking cry of “Maggie! Maggie! Maggie!”, the audience responding with a lusty “Out! Out! Out!” Most of the political content, though, was surprisingly low-key. Pauline Melville came closest to evoking the streetfighting spirit of the age, although her portrayal of Eydie the Radical Housewife was laced with an awareness that the trusty old slogans failed to bring down the lady with the handbag.

Whimsy held centre-stage earlier. The Oblivion Boys bounced harmless jokes off each other, while Norman Lovett’s set was a masterclass in how to hold an audience’s attention with the lightest of gestures. Arnold Brown’s genial self-deprecation seemed more laboured this time, but it was a delight to see The Greatest Show on Legs — no longer blessed with the presence of the late Malcolm Hardee — turning on the music hall charm with their balloons and bare bums.

Nigel Planer, who had opened proceedings with a memorably smug monologue from the great thespian Nicholas Craig, returned later with a couple of off-key folk ditties. Alexei Sayle compèred the second part of the show, winning maximum applause for his line “A lot has changed since I invented alternative comedy . . .” Stewart Lee himself took over for the final third, mischievously riffing on how the liberal-minded “Cameroons” are, in some ways, a trickier satirical target than the Thatcherites.

While Lee is an admirer of Kevin McAleer, the Irishman’s laconic running commentary on a surreal slide show eventually outstayed its welcome. Andrew Bailey was more economical with his impersonation of Lenin wandering through the wreckage of the Soviet Empire. Mrs T would have been amused.

Written by Clive Davis in The TImes on 30th May 2011. Filed Under: At Last The 1981 Show, Austerity Binge
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