God, Greed and Football

• Brian Donaldson
• 5 August 2013

This article is from 2013.

A show so flimsy that the comedian himself has little faith in it

From the moment Simon Lilley walks on stage and falteringly attempts a satirical assault on the estate agents of the world, it’s clear that we’re all in trouble. Lilley has little or nothing to say about the three core elements of his very long hour and anything approaching a decent gag or a pithy argument have been said before and better. He even takes a swipe at bankers as though no one has broached that thorny subject prior to this show. An inadvisable attempt at audience interaction is swiftly aborted and it’s back to the ‘material’. His heart is obviously in the right place (and he has a pleasant enough singing voice), but it seems unclear why he would appear at an arts festival with a show so flimsy that he himself patently has no faith in it. Which is probably the greatest irony of all, given that his main point is to have something solid to believe in, now that religion and football have sold its acolytes down the river.

Just the Tonic at The Tron, 556 5375, until 25 Aug (not 13, 19), 2.20pm, £5–£6.