Limmy Live! – The Lyric, The Lowry, Salford

Writer and performer: by Brian Limond
Reviewer: Matt Forrest

Brian Limond first came to prominence in 2006 with numerous performances at The Fringe and Glasgow International Comedy Festival. What followed was series of podcasts called Limmy’s Show where the world was introduced to a wide range of colourful characters, which included: Limmy and Falconhoof, TV presenter of a fictional fantasy game show Adventure Call. Limond landed his own BBC series called Limmy’s Show!, which lead to several appearances on Charlie Brooker’s Newswipe.

Limmy is now taking his TV show on the road, with Limmy Live! Limond arrives on­stage to a thunderous applause and greets the audience with a question so often asked by many arriving comics to the Lowry is he in Manchester or Salford? Limond goes on to explain that he had taken a fair amount of flack from one of his twitter followers for saying that the Lowry was in Manchester: this is the perfect set up for a series of suitably silly impressions of some Manchester’s favourite sons, Morrissey and the brothers Gallagher.

What follows are a series of fun, silly sketches, which include malevolent television psychic Raymond Day, and the ultra-shifty businessman Mr Mulvaney attempting to conceal a dark secret from the police. These are inter­cut with short video clips used as a buffer between costume changes. The show has gained a substantial cult following with its blend of surreal, observational humour; it effortlessly zigzags between the bizarre and sinister. At some points some of the humour may be lost on those less than familiar with Limond’s output but,on the whole, the show is accessible and good silly fun. One stand-out moment involves a spot of good old-fashioned audience participation, as a group of eager volunteers clamber on stage for a Tina Turner-inspired dance-­off.

Not everything hits its mark: a sketch involving Derek “Dee Dee” Durie seems drawn out and bloated. However, crowd favourites Falconhoof and a rather surreal sketch involving ex-heroin addict Jacqueline McCafferty meeting her idol Marti Pellow more than make up for the sketches that don’t work as well.

The main strength of Limond is his facial expressions: he has the perfect face for comedy; his expressions can tell more of a joke than 100 lines of dialogue, so it’s a good job there is a huge screen on hand projecting it out across the theatre. Limond is ably supported by Kirsten McLean, Alan McHugh, and Paul McCole who reprise their roles from the television series and are clearly having a ball.

Limmy Live! is a stupidly fun show and provided the perfect tonic for the apocalyptic storm that was raging outside. You don’t have to be a fan of the television show to enjoy it, although it certainly would help: however there is enough here to keep newcomers to this unique comic talent more than entertained.

Reviewed on 13 September 2016 | Image: BBC