The Boy with Tape on His Face // NNF2012, The Spiegeltent - 24.05.12
"Using hand gestures and the most expressive eyes since Wallace and Gromit, he connects and communicates with the audience despite the obvious vocal barrier." - Smiley reviews the show at the Speigeltent
What’s the deal with silence these days? You can’t shut people up from talking about, well, shutting up. First there was The Artist, the Oscars darling of a silent nod to bygone cinema, and now we have The Boy With Tape on His Face. Described variously as a kind of a grungy Mr Bean or a gagged Roberto Benigni, Sam Wills is the self-censored mum-keeper that has delighted crowds with his one man show all over the UK since his debut at the Edinburgh Fringe a year ago – and now he brings his talents to Norwich.
As the audience fill the tent, he is already sitting on the stage looking nervous, and from the start you find yourself warming to this disarming, tentative figure. I wouldn’t suggest that this is because a man dressed in a suit, sitting on a stage under a spotlight ,looking scared with tape covering his mouth looks like he is about to take part in the wrong end of an internet jihad beheading, but that’s what came to my mind. Sue me. The act itself is a mixture of miming and clowning, performance art and comedy. Using hand gestures and the most expressive eyes since Wallace and Gromit, he connects and communicates with the audience despite the obvious vocal barrier.
Drawing the audience in from the start is essential as calling it a one man show is actually slightly inaccurate. Most of the show involves audience participation, and as the polite, yet firm disclaimer says at the start of the show, if you are picked, you are expected to join in. In most other comedy stand up shows, this would be a no-no, but with the Boy, it’s a privilege as without a hint of mockery or malice, audience members are commandeered into becoming part of the show. There are times when participants take a moment or two to understand his silent instructions, but this only adds to the fun as the act is so random that guessing what will come next is almost impossible. Blink and the next thing you know, you’ll find yourself watching three people in afros, who didn’t even know they were learning a sequence of dance moves, performing Blame It on the Boogie whilst being sung to by a pair of shoes – magic.
I won’t give any more of the sketches away as seeing them unfold is more than half of the fun, and this show is so charming and original that I would recommend it to everyone. The Boy… proves that actions truly speak louder than words as the whole audience has a brilliant time, and leaves the hour long show smiling across their faces. I couldn’t help but feel however, that this is a show that you need to get whilst it’s hot. While I’m sure that Sam Wills has a long future ahead in comedy, eventually I think the tape will come off – after all he won’t get very far on Mock the Week as things stand. Maybe he will stay committed to his vow of silence, and will stand true to the form that has brought him his best success so far or maybe not. For now, he’s not telling as the tape stays firmly on. Visual comedy has been given a refreshing shake-up, and now is the time to see it - whatever happens after, Marceau far so good.
Smiley
