Garrett Millerick: Just Trying To Help – Soho Theatre, London

For three nights Garrett Millerick brings his much-lauded Edinburgh Fringe show to the Soho Theatre. As “the world’s angriest optimist” he pitches his show as an investigation into the unintended consequences of doing your best, and the mayhem that ensues when people try to help. It’s an hour of astute observational comedy delivered with a vociferous energy.

Much of the subject matter stems from examining life under lockdown, and whilst this theme has now been well-explored, Millerick manages to avoid the already tired lockdown tropes with genuinely original observations, all of which are delivered with a tireless tenacity.

Starting with a brilliant tirade mapping his life through the junk email he receives – from “horny sluts in your area” through to “releasing equity in your home”, he soars through subject areas at a breakneck pace. From NHS admin staff through to Jeff Bezos, few subjects are off limits. His rapport with the audience is accomplished and his lively energy gets the most from a midweek crowd.

He teases the audience with provocative retorts, always teetering on the edge of the socially acceptable, not excluding himself from the firing line as the head a of a self-professed “arsehole neutral” household. The set is relentless in pace from the outset, the effort evident in his sweat-laden brow, but his comedy is more than the quick-fire jibes that ripple the surface of this show with waves of laughter. Beneath is a righteous streak too, with mentions of sweatshops, baby boomers, Brexit, and more, managing to swerve just past the trap of virtue signalling or politicising.

One of his particularly good observations is centred on a truth that many of us might relate to; the only thing holding us back from realising our potential is having the time to devote to it. After a lockdown where time was plentiful and potential unrealised, he observes that for most, time wasn’t our enemy, we were. Whether that holds true for you or not, time spent watching this show is without doubt, well-spent.

Runs until 16 November 2022