The Invisible Dot have been tasked with bringing comedy to
MIF for the first time, and while it may be moaned about that they have
predominantly invited acts who’re based outside of Manchester, they have served
up a winning piece of late night entertainment. The line-ups will change
throughout the cabaret’s run, but if they keep up this high calibre, you're
guaranteed some late night laughs. In true cabaret style, they present us with
a variety of comedic forms and the mix works well.
Neurosis seemed to be the theme of the night as compère for
the evening Mae Martin shared jokes about worried mothers and the emotional
anguish brought on by Brian Cox. A Canadian, Martin had good fun with English
accents, but needs to worry less about whether we have seen things over here.
Relaxed and playful, she kept the evening ticking over nicely.
Phil Ellis (the only local on the bill) always thrives off
the audience, his energetic performance dragging us helplessly along in his
wake. He's easily distracted by new ideas and, although a veer towards darker
material at the end of his set threatens to derail the audience's goodwill,
Ellis makes for a great opener.
Natasha Demetriou and Ellie White followed as the Sexy
Dangerous American Girl Cousins. There were some lovely lines and it's a very
physical performance, but ultimately the characters came off a little one-note
for me, and the intentionally “so bad it's good” finale didn't quite land.
The night was rounded off by Sheeps, a sketch trio who play
with and deconstruct the sketch form in smart, but rarely
too-clever-for-their-own-good ways. It took them a moment to kick into gear,
but soon had the audience following them with every twist and turn. Sketch
topics veered from a preview of their new musical based on Oliver Twist (“We've spotted a gap in the market”) to a violent
ruckus between Chuckle Brothers via cat-based whimsy. A great way to close the
night.
The 90-minute show flew by without an interval and proved to
be a great night in all, but, although the Invisible Dot has a roster of
excellent comedians, perhaps next year we can show off more home-grown talent
instead of relegating it to the fringes. Hopefully next year the comedy
offering will grow and we will see even greater and braver variety.
Words: Sean Mason
The Invisible Dot
continues each night until 17 July. For more info and tickets, visit its MIF web page.
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