By: Cathryn Macey, TRP Reviewer
Happiness; the more you look for it, the harder it is to find. Well, at least that was Paddy’s experience during his formative years living in the same constituency as David Cameron.
Paddy is one half of musical comedy duo, Jonny & The Baptists. Jonny is his bearded, best mate and this week they’re here to tell stories, sing outrageously funny songs and generally just make us laugh.
Edinburgh Fringe favourites, these guys thrive on word-of-mouth recommendations. It’s pretty hard to sum up their unique brand of comedy. Sometimes it’s satirical, sometimes it’s surreal and sometimes it’s sad. More often than not, it’s just downright silly!
They’re socialists at heart but they don’t take themselves too seriously. There are no soapboxes on the stage. There are just two friendly men dressed in matching, ill-fitting dungarees trying (and often failing) to make sense of life, love and Liz Truss.
Mixing the personal with the political, Act One is a riotous run through and humorous critique of the revolving door that is Number 10 Downing Street. Even the most hardened Tory would struggle not to crack a smile during this first leg of the performance.
Titled The Happiness Index, it’s named after the (swiftly shelved) questionnaire David Cameron sent out to measure the UK’s contentment levels back in 2010. A young Paddy gets one of the surveys in the post and let’s just say his levels of happiness have been plummeting ever since.
Jonny and Paddy’s main bone of contention? The Conservative cuts to the NHS. Its shrinking budget makes it impossible for Paddy to access a doctor that can help with his depressive episodes. But it’s okay because best mate and unofficial brother, Jonny, is on hand to pull him towards the light using the only tool he has; comedy.
It’s a strange yet sublime opening act. One minute we’re evaluating Boris Johnson’s stint as leader and the next we’re learning a cover song from The Killers based on herbs…. “Are you cumin?”.
Using a guitar and their (questionable) talent for beat boxing, the duo ping-pong from making serious political points to tongue-in-cheek jokes about mental health. Wonderfully chaotic and sometimes deeply poignant, The Happiness Index is a fascinating ride inside Paddy and Jonny’s collectively warped minds.
Ten Thankless Years is the show’s second half and is more of a simple celebration of their most popular comedy songs. They work through their back catalogue with gusto stopping only to spoil us with random facts, anecdotes and very niche references. Every song is catchy, subversive and a little bit “The Mighty Boosh”. Not for the easily offended, this section of the show is additional proof of the pair’s commitment to alternative comedy. The entire audience is in hysterics for the whole set.
If you like Milton Jones, Flight of the Concordes, or indeed just good comedy and music, then you absolutely need to catch this act while you can.