ED2015 4/5 Reviews ED2015 Comedy Reviews

Ally Houston – Shandy (Ally Houston)

By Ben Shannon | Published on Saturday 29 August 2015

Ally Houston has an inner ‘pet clown’ called Shandy, and this show is a musical which depicts their relationship. It may sound a little bizarre, but the resulting performance is a fascinating look at the two sides of this performer, which utilises the tech on offer to full effect. Houston has his diminutive audience entirely captivated from the start with a set that has clearly been tirelessly worked on to create the perfect structure. The songs are well written and contain some particularly niche yet hilarious lines that help illuminate the world Houston creates for his audience; meanwhile, his traditional stand-up segments go some way to showing these different sides of the same coin, and how one cannot survive without the other. This adds to the often-dreamlike absurdity of the piece and makes for an interesting debut hour.

Just The Tonic At The Mash House, until 30 Aug
tw rating 4/5 | [Ben Shannon]