Starr has got laughs for everyone
Monkeys Everywhere
Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) until 25 August
You know you’ve struck gold when the grown-ups at a children’s show are laughing as hard (sometimes harder) than their young charges. It’s also a sign of success when little ones feel comfortable enough to interact, verbally and physically, in moments of clear glee but don’t disrupt a show’s flow. Garry Starr achieves all this and much, much more in his superb new family show, Monkeys Everywhere.
Yet it could easily not have been the case. A children’s show that attempts to capture and convey the performer’s mental health difficulties is ripe for moments where nobody knows quite what to think or feel. Fear not, because Starr and director Olivia Jacobs (of Tall Stories fame) have constructed an hour of fun that never stops giving.
Bounding onto the stage, dressed as an Elizabethan but moving like a monkey, Starr sets his stall out early. He’s not afraid to make a fool of himself and has a whole range of props and a fabulous set to help make that happen.
Using monkeys as a metaphor for the intrusive thoughts that infiltrate his mind, Starr spends the entire show trying to write its ending. Each time he attempts to focus, another disruption arrives – each as hilarious as the last and totally unexpected (so no spoilers here).
Intermittent, and very funny, phone calls from the “Minister of Theatre” help keep everyone up to speed. They also include the poignant line, “the only thing more exhausting than having monkeys everywhere, is trying to pretend they’re not”, which will resonate with parents of children who mask their feelings to get through the day.
Such is the sensitivity, wit and charm of this show, the mental health message will land with some, and fly over the heads of others. Which is absolutely fine, because either way you’ll have a great time.