Comedy / bristol slapstick festival
Review: Slapstick 2019: Tim Vine’s Top Comedy Moments
As one-time world record holder for the most jokes told in an hour, Tim Vine could have rattled through his own material in a matter of minutes.
In fact, the quick-witted comedian sprinkles his legendary one-liners quite sparingly throughout his on-stage conversation with fellow comic Richard Herring at Bristol Old Vic early Saturday evening, as he provides the audience with a unique insight into the inspiration behind his work.
It’s a clever concept: get two masters of their craft together to talk about the legends that went before them as part of the ever-brilliant Slapstick Festival line up. In practice, it’s one that seems to divide the audience.
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There’s a man in the middle of the upper circle row of seats who hasn’t cracked a smile throughout – though maybe he’s chortling away inside – and there are some rolling around in their seats, eyes streaming with laughter.
Tim and Richard are the same age and have a shared history – one time having back to back slots at Edinburgh Fringe Festival. “I’m glad I was the one facing the audience,” quips Tim.
Throughout the conversation, one often finishes the other’s sentence as they talk about their chosen field and the people who influenced them. While a chunk of slapstick comedy connoisseurs (Richard refers to them as comedy nerds) – and those brought up in a similar comic era – revel in being part of the performance, calling out names of forgotten productions, others are left trying to catch up.
Tim makes his entrance onto the Bristol Old Vic stage on a kind of make-shift skateboard that, wisely, is quickly discarded into the wings.
Settling down in a leather seat next to a casually-dressed Richard, he punctuates the conversation with witty wisecracks and there are moments of brilliance as he ad libs on stage and gives a preamble about each of his chosen top comedy clips.
It was seemingly an era when comedy was a white, middle-aged man’s world. The audience is treated to clips of a bygone age, including Top Secret – the 1984 follow-up to Airplane! – Peter Sellers and, of course, Laurel and Hardy.
It’s an entertaining trip down memory lane and a true homage to slapstick, which after all, is what the festival is all about. But for those of us brought up watching a wider variety of comics from all walks of life, it has its limitations.
Tim speaks with poignant honesty about how much his dad, who died last year, influenced his comedy. He reminisces about being a child and his dad, Guy, waking him at midnight to watch Bilko, reflecting that without this paternal influence, he probably wouldn’t have pursued a career in comedy.
Tim and Richard joke that Guy must have woken Tim’s brother, broadcaster Jeremy Vine, up to watch news reports, setting him up for his own chosen path.
The final clip shown is one of Guy coming on to the stage in the middle of one of Tim’s stand-up shows to perform the first joke he ever told his son.
To paraphrase: “Three women, who are hard of hearing, are walking down the street. One says, ‘it’s windy isn’t it?’ To which another replies; ‘no dear, it’s Thursday’. The third then says: “Me too, let’s go for a drink’.”
Brilliant in its simplicity (and better heard than read), it’s a touching and fitting way to end a show that has provided a comfortable dose of nostalgia and tributes to some comedy greats.
All photos by David Betteridge.
Read more: Tim Vine: Sunset Milk Idiot (sold out)
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