The Mighty Boosh Live - Trent FM Arena, 10/01/09

You’ll often hear fans of the TV show, The Mighty Boosh, complaining that they don’t think it’ll translate well to the stage. They might be surprised to learn that the Boosh started out on stage, playing revues and shows in pubs and bars, and initially struggled to get onto the TV because executives didn’t think it’d translate well to the screen!

It’s with this apparent contradiction in mind that I prepare to see the Boosh’s latest live show at the Nottingham Trent FM Arena. Walking into a Boosh show is a strange experience as the fans tend to take ‘going in character’ very seriously – it’s somewhat disturbing to bump into three Old Greggs on your way to the venue, squeeze past a Spirit of Jazz to get to the bar and then turn around to be confronted by a Mr Susan spraying squirts of water everywhere. Not bad, you understand – quite entertaining in a way – just a bit wierd..

Tonight’s show seems to be completely sold out, and the packed arena is shaking to a mix of bizarre disco funk as we walk in. The TV show often involves a lot of close-up shots because of the often physical nature of the humour and that’s something that can be lost in a large venue, so they’ve placed a pair of huge projection screens on each side of the stage and a couple of TV cameras at the back of the arena so we don’t miss anything. These are put to entertaining use for a few minutes displaying images of audience members reading books and picking their noses, as well as some of the more imaginative costumes in the crowd.

Anyone who has seen the TV show will know that it’s a mix of surreal character comedy, bizarre music and extremely twisted scenarios. The best way to bring that to the stage is probably just to jump right in, so the moment the curtains part, the PA erupts into thumping electro and a heavily illuminated and pyrotechnic firing miniature pirate ship slides into view containing Vince Noir (Noel Fielding) in his most messianic pose. Howard Moon (Julian Barratt) rows onto the opposite side in a rather unimpressive rubber dinghy, the pair launch into a full volume rendition of ‘Future Sailors’ and we’re rolling.

The Boosh live experience frequently changes pace and focus, from huge set pieces and songs. to individual sketches and simple one-to-one dialogues. The curtains close immediately after the intro song, and Vince and Howard emerge and launch into one of their trademark talking heads sections that fans will recognise from the start of the first TV series. You get the feeling that a lot of these are actually planned but quickly fall prey to ad-libs and general mucking about, as the pair respond to the audience and the large screens visibly show them trying not to laugh. The intimate, ‘mates having a laugh’ feel comes across brilliantly regardless, and after as short pause, a few insults and a sneakily inserted advert for Vince’s sponsor we’re onto the rest of the show.

The entire performance moves along at a cracking pace, shifting between scenes and characters at a rate that’s hard to keep up with. Normal rules of theatre don’t apply here, as the Boosh simply throw things together in an order they like with no regards to convention. This I approve of, as it keeps the atmosphere dynamic and nicely off balance. There are plenty of musical interludes featuring the full Boosh band to pump up the energy levels and they cover a surprising amount of the music from the TV series. The only issues I’d have are that we didn’t see enough of Naboo (Michael Fielding) and Bollo (Dave Brown), and most of Bob Fossil’s (Rich Fulcher) scenes were simply not funny and could have been cut with no ill effects.

I won’t spoil the rest of the show for you in case you’re going to see one of the remaining dates, but I can give you an idea of what you’re likely to see:

• A band of cockney murderers singing about eels
• A serious and dark play about the future of the planet
• A very large hairdryer
• The moon dedicating a poem to the bloke who stayed in the moon lander while Armstrong and Aldrin mucked about outside.
• Tony Harrison’s chat show, featuring a taxi driving comedian who doesn’t speak a word of English
• Bob Fossils’ dance school, including the ‘screeching weasel’ move
• Naboo and Bollo gangsta rapping
• A musical crimp compilation.. a crimpilation, if you will.
• The Honey Monster getting his just desserts
• Howard Moon’s underwear

And if that doesn’t excite you, you’ve clearly gone wrong.

Useful links: 

The Mighty Boosh official page - News on tours and appearances, character profiles, an episode guide and a gallery

Cheekbone Magazine - Produced every three hours to stay ahead of the trends, and hand delivered by Ninjas.

The Moon's official website