The Return Of Two In One.

Last night I went and saw another two shows in an evening. First stop was Leicester Square Theatre for Sammy J and the Forest of Dreams and then onto Soho Theatre to see Reggie Watts.

Sammy J and his smutty puppet friends had me crying with laughter, albeit I laughed harder at the fuck-ups than anything else. I think it's definately one of those shows that I could see over and over and still enjoy. I woke up this morning with 'In the Forest of Dreams' in my head which made me want to sway in time.

Words can't describe what Reggie Watts does; an incredible talent who's in a league of his own. Breaking down jokes and delivering somewhat weak punch lines in theory wouldn't work, but it did for Reggie Watts. The Time Out Sydney review puts it quite eloquently:

"I'm staring at a blank page, wondering what to write, and in a funny way it makes me wish I were Reggie Watts. He would love a blank page, or a silent room, or an unsuspecting innocent mind. He would appraise it the way a vegetable carver eyes a radish - as an opportunity. An opportunity to fill an empty space with endless random oddness.

That is really the best way to describe what Reggie Watts does. He escapes categorisation; his show comprises offbeat comedy, social satire, physical theatre, beat boxing and song, though not enough to actually be any of those things. He appears on stage with a keyboard, a couple of microphones and a loop machine, and proceeds to amuse and confuse in equal measure.

Mostly he just talks. And talks and talks. And then talks some more. And the talking isn't about anything and doesn't really make sense. And it might pass through a number of different accents and octaves. But then again, it might not. And in between the talking he plays songs, which will generally have a bit more narrative than the talking, but not necessarily. There was a heartfelt rambling ballad about the funny side of seduction and a hip hop parody that had the whole audience chanting "shit fuck stack". But sometimes he was just making sounds, which was the most impressive of all. Watts is a vocal maestro with a ten-octave range who can create any sonance audible to the human ear somewhere in his oesophagus.

In fact, I wonder why he makes weird semi-comedy instead of just creating awesome music? I suspect he enjoys messing with our heads too much. And I will gamely admit that it is fun to have your head messed with, and that's really the best reason to experience the show. Seeing Reggie Watts is a bit like sexual or chemical experimentation - you're not entirely sure what just happened, but you think you liked it and you'd probably do it again."

A thought:

I don't have the time or patience to talk to people who don't agree with me. If you agree with me however, I have all the time in the world.