Writers: Arthur Smith and Phil Nice
Director: Kevin Day
Two strangers meet on a park bench and start passing the time of day. It takes them a while to realise they know one another; in fact, they used to be a comedy double act 30 years ago until they went their separate ways. Arthur Smith & Phil Nice: OOF! is a scattered trip down memory lane as the reunited comedians reflect on being older, the world they used to know and the friends they once were – ‘OOF!’ being the noise they now make whenever they stand or sit. Playing at Soho Theatre following a tryout at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, Smith and Nice rediscover their easy chemistry in a show that finds a little grit in their warmer reminiscences.
The Waiting for Godot scenario provides just enough structure for a show that covers a huge volume of topics in under 60 minutes, barely lingering on one ludicrous aspect of the modern age or frustration about ageing before abstractly moving on to a dozen more. This is not a traditional stand-up set with obvious anecdotes or scenarios that build to a big punchline, but almost a theatrically managed two-hander told in phases as the pair engages in those closed single-sentence conversations that men seem to have, moving as swiftly between garden centres and driving tests as they do politics, religion and park bench etiquette.
There are some fairly consistent strands including the baffling nature of modern society with Smartphones, emojis and language shifts each having its moment of mockery, while Thatcher remains a key target, as does Brexit, with Trump’s tariffs offering a spot of topicality – although Smith and Nice spend no more time on world leaders past and present than they do the JFK assassination or their own memory of working together. The pitch often varies as a result and, depending on your age, only some jokes will land while other viewers will just enjoy the slightly absurdist structure of random associations.
Smith and Nice do have their more introspective moments reflecting on personal grief and Smith’s struggle with alcoholism, a really meaningful solo passage describing a typical day spent entirely in the pub as the hours tick by. He finds the humour in the scenario but the pain still lingers beneath the surface. And it is strange to see that contrasted with a section on funny walks or Nice getting so overexcited by his senior railcard that he appears to urinate on himself. It means OOF! is hard to describe, and despite its performers’ focus on the slowing down that age brings, the show itself is a sprightly piece that refuses to be pinned down to a particular comedy genre or purpose.
There is skewering satire – The One Show is described as “Blue Peter for grownups” – and then Nice burps the names of European capital cities. They despair the lot of old white men now only controlling 92% of the world (down from 96%) while turning Hamlet’s most famous soliloquy into a list of UK towns to take a touring show. OOF! is never one thing for long, but it is the nature of their relationship, two old friends passing the time on a bench with nothing and everything to say.
Runs until 5 April 2025
