We’re all idiots, on the inside, according to Inner Idiots, a show which – after some last-minute cast changes – brings London four tight acts of stand-up comedy, mixed in with some sage life advice from questions provided by the audience in the form of pink sticky notes.
Within the relief of the Museum of Comedy’s heavy use of air conditioning, to kick things off, we have Anthony Heston. Endearing, witty and bumbling, Heston shines best talking about his Polish heritage and the unfortunate result of some mispronunciations from his mother. Heston covers beating off the posh-boy allegations: ‘I’ve only played golf, like, 30 times. Which I think is reasonable’. It’s pacey and effective, despite not every joke landing, and warms up the audience nicely.
Stormy Pasha, or Pasha Cherednychenko, is charming and commanding of the small space, dancing with joy as he jumps on stage. High energy seems to be his theme, as he tells all about his course in making introverts extroverts, by chasing them down and stating ‘I know what you need’. Pasha is seemingly already popular with this audience, even jokes about his soulless corporate job to a crowd seemingly made up of a lot of his colleagues. When it’s his turn to pick a life advice portion question from the jar, he delights in telling the audience of the Ukrainian inability to trust a dishwasher, despite having no evidence or reason as to why they can’t be trusted. Some knowing laughs from the audience seem to confirm this.
Rebecca-Maree talks emphatically about her dating life, not afraid to admit that she’s single and on the hunt, showing a little desperation in her crowd work to excellent comedic effect. The result is engaging, and even though she’s come all the way from Australia, there’s something deeply British about her effortless self-deprecation. Returning to the same audience members gives a nice through-line and pace to her set.
Segueing into a story about being fired, Rebecca-Maree locks eyes with this reviewer, her former colleague, and delights in telling the audience that at least one person already knows this story. A delightful bit of coincidence from last-minute cast changes.
Bonnie Adair is confident in her mom status, her ability to multi-task, and the fact that extroverts are just introverts making the effort. Whilst not every joke is smooth, Adair’s storytelling is at the forefront of her set, making every moment there aren’t laughs equally engaging. The set is certainly made more engaging by the fact that jokes about her sister are directed toward her actual sister in the front row.
Ending each act with a few life questions from the audience is a nice way to segue the acts, and add a touch of originality to the show, especially in the high volume of London’s comedy nights. But when the group rounds off the evening together on stage in a competition for the best advice, it all feels slightly rushed and uncertain and falls a bit flat and takes some of the energy out of the evening.
Solid stand-up, a good atmosphere, and some actually helpful life advice. Inner Idiots is worth a Wednesday night.
Reviewed on 31 July 2024
Camden Fringe runs until 25 August 2024
