2010 Edinburgh Fringe
His Eyes Were Like Oysters review
I just don't know how to review His Eyes Were Like Oysters. I think it is the most surreal live comedy show I have ever encountered. This sketch group are so weird they make The Mighty Boosh look positively sane and boring.
His Eyes Were Like Oysters is essentially a series of un-connected sketches, with Alan Starr - a deadpan, dour DJ with taped up glasses and a cigarette permanently wedged in his mouth - providing the filler between the skits. About the only link between the show and reality was in the form of a musical tribute to TV presenter June Sarpong.
To give you a flavour of the show, here's a copy of some of my notes...
Puppet Boy
Tiny Statue
Ignore the Pillar
Antiques Roadshow rap
Hoovering the audience
Sexy cats
Wayoo
Congratulations card signed by audience
Piss Pig
End is not an end
If you think these words don't make much sense in the cold light of day... the sketches to which they refer are just as odd and baffling when you see them. Although everything comes across as being freewheeling, there's clearly a carefully thought out script behind the show. It is the scripted element which moves the show towards the art end of the spectrum, rather than it just being a bunch of actors mucking about and saying whatever comes into their heads.
I really enjoyed the hour and will definitely check the group out again next year because their sketches provided a workout for my eyes and brain like nothing I've experienced before... but it's hard to work out whether to recommend them or not. For some, this group will likely provide one of the funniest hours you've seen all year, but for others who don't like surreal humour it'll be like comedy hell. His Eyes Were Like Oysters is certainly a show that divides: there were a couple of walk outs, but equally a couple of people howling with laughter on the day this review was conducted. Either way, it's definitely not a show you'll ever forget.
In the spirit of being surreal and not making sense, I give this show the following rating: Grapefruit Stars.