REVIEW
✭✭✭☆☆ 3/5
Jonathan Pie - Fake News Tour
Cliffs Pavilion – Southend-on-Sea
Wednesday 13th November 2019
✭✭✭☆☆ 3/5
Jonathan Pie - Fake News Tour
Cliffs Pavilion – Southend-on-Sea
Wednesday 13th November 2019
“Sometimes you just want to have a laugh without being lectured. Anyway, back to Brexit…”
When Jonathan Pie first slapped us round the face in July 2015 with his expletive ridden political passion-rants going viral on social media, it truly was a breath of fresh air. His timing could not have been better, as over the next 3 years the situation in British politics, nay, the World, became ever riper for both frustration and satire.
Regardless of what side of the political divide you fell on, anyone with even the slightest interest in politics couldn’t help but enjoy the animated news reporter grow red in the face with incredulity at the most recent outrage engulfing Westminster, or politics in general.
His last tour ‘Back to the Studio’ in 2018 was based on the idea of an ‘up-and-coming’ Pie given the chance to host his very own television show. Needless to say things don’t go to plan, and one year later he’s back. Fallen. Disgraced. Fired from his job due to an (as yet unnamed) scandal, and touring the country in an attempt to clear his name (or at least, defend it), and regain his voice in the media.
The set is remarkably humbler than last year’s show – we see a lecture hall with a large central screen, a plinth, and a few professional lights for good measure. It does from the off feel like a lower budget production than last time, but then this could entirely be the point. Pie is at rock bottom, as he makes no qualms about admitting from the off – regaling the audience with his drunken descent into a whiskey induced depression (complete with tabloid pictures and Sun-esk headlines).
Talk however quickly turns to Brexit. Pie pinpoints the phenomenon all the way back to prehistoric times, through the industrial revolution right up to the present date, with his graph on the Evolution of the Politician being one particular highlight. In his earlier work, Pie has always shown himself to be a ‘Reluctant Remainer’. As such, he had previously criticized the EU in his online videos as being a ‘Capitalist Club’ (amongst other things), and whilst he did admit he voted to remain, he did at least have some criticism of what he saw as a very flawed organization. Pie’s ability to at the very least understand the arguments of both sides is one of the reasons why he appeals to so many across the political divide (His rant at the election of Donald Trump being a particularly exemplary example). He might not like it, but he’ll go out of his way to at least understand it, instead of simply writing off the other side as stupid, or bigots.
In ‘Fake News’ however it seems attitudes have changed. What was once an ‘I don’t agree, but I do understand’ stance has become more polarizing. “Brexit was created for two reasons. It was created by idiots and it was voted for by idiots”. Personally it seems a shame that he has distanced himself from bridging that divide, but maybe creator Tom Walker has simply honed in on his target audience (he classes both himself and his alter-ego as an “old school lefty”), but for me his lack of empathy towards all sides of the argument felt like a detraction of the Pie we’ve come to know.
Once Brexit is (mostly) out of his system, he moves onto the minefield of ‘Woke’ Culture, Political Correctness and the issue of Free Speech. The latter where Pie (and Walker) is a great advocate. His unshakable belief in the right to freedom of speech is central to his message. He combines comedy and relatable anecdotes to make his points and whilst providing many laughs, also connects to us on a very human level about a man who just made a stupid mistake – and haven’t we all? And maybe, just maybe, we should learn to forgive again.
This is Walker’s first tour without fellow writer Andrew Doyle (who has now gone solo on his super successful creation Titania McGrath) and I can’t help but shake the feeling that something was missing. Pie’s last tour was incredibly impressive, it flowed beautifully and reached out on topics that both shocked, drew in the laughs, but also made poignant points on the state of life in 21st century Britain. The Fake News Tour however, does feel less honed and slightly more reliant on vulgarity than genuine astute political observations. Whether this is due to Doyle’s absence, I can’t say. Walker also attempts to build flesh around Pie – introducing stories of his child and (now ex) wife, as well as relationships with his parents and past which all felt somewhat forced and didn’t quite sit right with me for some reason I can’t quite put my finger on.
Regardless, this third outing for Jonathan Pie is still wildly enjoyable. I felt myself with a fixed grin throughout, although the big laughs were rarer. His ability to rant and retain attention for a solid 80 minutes is a masterclass in stage performance and he connects with the audience on a really personal level. Sometimes you agree with him, others not, and it’s clear that Walker relishes the debate and seeks not to settle the argument, but to ensure it remains open for discussion. The rise of Pie has been remarkable, and it appears he’s not going anywhere anytime soon. And in this time of political upheaval and uncertainty, I think we’ll all be hungry for another slice of Pie for many years to come.
Review: Michael Reddihough
The tour continues.....
Regardless of what side of the political divide you fell on, anyone with even the slightest interest in politics couldn’t help but enjoy the animated news reporter grow red in the face with incredulity at the most recent outrage engulfing Westminster, or politics in general.
His last tour ‘Back to the Studio’ in 2018 was based on the idea of an ‘up-and-coming’ Pie given the chance to host his very own television show. Needless to say things don’t go to plan, and one year later he’s back. Fallen. Disgraced. Fired from his job due to an (as yet unnamed) scandal, and touring the country in an attempt to clear his name (or at least, defend it), and regain his voice in the media.
The set is remarkably humbler than last year’s show – we see a lecture hall with a large central screen, a plinth, and a few professional lights for good measure. It does from the off feel like a lower budget production than last time, but then this could entirely be the point. Pie is at rock bottom, as he makes no qualms about admitting from the off – regaling the audience with his drunken descent into a whiskey induced depression (complete with tabloid pictures and Sun-esk headlines).
Talk however quickly turns to Brexit. Pie pinpoints the phenomenon all the way back to prehistoric times, through the industrial revolution right up to the present date, with his graph on the Evolution of the Politician being one particular highlight. In his earlier work, Pie has always shown himself to be a ‘Reluctant Remainer’. As such, he had previously criticized the EU in his online videos as being a ‘Capitalist Club’ (amongst other things), and whilst he did admit he voted to remain, he did at least have some criticism of what he saw as a very flawed organization. Pie’s ability to at the very least understand the arguments of both sides is one of the reasons why he appeals to so many across the political divide (His rant at the election of Donald Trump being a particularly exemplary example). He might not like it, but he’ll go out of his way to at least understand it, instead of simply writing off the other side as stupid, or bigots.
In ‘Fake News’ however it seems attitudes have changed. What was once an ‘I don’t agree, but I do understand’ stance has become more polarizing. “Brexit was created for two reasons. It was created by idiots and it was voted for by idiots”. Personally it seems a shame that he has distanced himself from bridging that divide, but maybe creator Tom Walker has simply honed in on his target audience (he classes both himself and his alter-ego as an “old school lefty”), but for me his lack of empathy towards all sides of the argument felt like a detraction of the Pie we’ve come to know.
Once Brexit is (mostly) out of his system, he moves onto the minefield of ‘Woke’ Culture, Political Correctness and the issue of Free Speech. The latter where Pie (and Walker) is a great advocate. His unshakable belief in the right to freedom of speech is central to his message. He combines comedy and relatable anecdotes to make his points and whilst providing many laughs, also connects to us on a very human level about a man who just made a stupid mistake – and haven’t we all? And maybe, just maybe, we should learn to forgive again.
This is Walker’s first tour without fellow writer Andrew Doyle (who has now gone solo on his super successful creation Titania McGrath) and I can’t help but shake the feeling that something was missing. Pie’s last tour was incredibly impressive, it flowed beautifully and reached out on topics that both shocked, drew in the laughs, but also made poignant points on the state of life in 21st century Britain. The Fake News Tour however, does feel less honed and slightly more reliant on vulgarity than genuine astute political observations. Whether this is due to Doyle’s absence, I can’t say. Walker also attempts to build flesh around Pie – introducing stories of his child and (now ex) wife, as well as relationships with his parents and past which all felt somewhat forced and didn’t quite sit right with me for some reason I can’t quite put my finger on.
Regardless, this third outing for Jonathan Pie is still wildly enjoyable. I felt myself with a fixed grin throughout, although the big laughs were rarer. His ability to rant and retain attention for a solid 80 minutes is a masterclass in stage performance and he connects with the audience on a really personal level. Sometimes you agree with him, others not, and it’s clear that Walker relishes the debate and seeks not to settle the argument, but to ensure it remains open for discussion. The rise of Pie has been remarkable, and it appears he’s not going anywhere anytime soon. And in this time of political upheaval and uncertainty, I think we’ll all be hungry for another slice of Pie for many years to come.
Review: Michael Reddihough
The tour continues.....