Matty Grey, kids comedian and creator of the show 101 Ways to Annoy your Parents and Other Really Old People, has a gift: an ability to produce side-splitting comedy that gets all generations wiping their eyes with laughter from the moment they’ve sat down.
Shuffling kids along to new parents who might be a better fit as soon as they entered the room was hilarious, and did make us wonder whether us oldies would end up being the butt of the joke through the show. This wasn’t the case and Matty cleverly showered us with jokes aimed at kids, parents, and himself through the show.
Matty lit up the room with an electric presence that never dimmed. Using music, slides and a big dollop of physical comedy, everybody was doubled over with laughter at his images of parents at the start and end of the summer holidays, kids with dribbly noses and even Matty with his very own dribbly nose… Be aware, though, this isn’t a show for the faint-hearted, this is a loud, in-your-face experience where audience participation is encouraged and snot is freely spoken about!
The interactive elements of the show were highly innovative and utterly anarchic; unique twists on some popular board games had all of the audience crying with laughter, however the pinnacle was the surprise pillow fight, which involved every single member of the show. This had kids squealing with delight as small soft pillows flew through the air back and forth – once again, this isn’t the show for you if you want to sit at the back quietly, there is nowhere to hide here! We found ourselves slamming pillows as hard as we could towards the front of the stage to hit the chosen targets, despite usually being very low-key festival types.
Within all the mayhem is Matty’s list of 101 ways kids can annoy adults: ranging from licking them and waking them up early to standing stock still at the end of their beds in the middle of the night. The list comes thick and fast, with tips and tricks for the kiddos to keep parents on their toes. The energy at this show was sky high and all down to Matty. Grey has created a gem of a comedy show that left us smiling for hours afterwards. A must-see for kids of all ages.
Various performances from Tuesday 27th May – Sunday 1st June; £8
The Laughing Horse at The Walrus Hideaway, 10 Ship Street, Brighton, BN1 1AD
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