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Underbelly Cowgate – Iron Belly
An energetic and enthusiastic dissection of the Noughties earworm, Mr Brightside, that sings in more ways than one.Summary
Rating
Excellent
When you analyse one of the most popular Noughties songs, The Killers’ Mr Brightside, the lyrics only partially make sense. But you can’t deny it’s catchy – no wonder it’s streamed 99 times a minute, still in the UK charts after 18 years, and regularly used as a meme. Performers Tim Chapman and Hannah Follows fell down the internet rabbit hole of Mr Brightside covers on YouTube, and their findings form the basis of this high energy show.
Coming Out Of My Cage (And I’ve Been Doing Just Fine) is unapologetically enthusiastic, setting Chapman and Follows on course to track down the mysterious karaoke singer from a northern town whose covers of the same iconic song were uploaded week after week, always dressed in the outfit worn by lead singer Brandon Flowers in the Mr Brightside music video – a video so strange that it’s broken down in an excellent segment.
Our duo are amateur sleuths in the internet age, using everything from Facebook to Google Maps to try and solve the curious case of ‘Brampton Flowers’, and it’s fast-paced fun. As someone who remembers seeing MSN Messenger usernames with lyrics from The Killers (you knew someone was angry if their screen name said ‘Choking on your alibis’), I was firmly in my comfort zone.
Chapman and Follows, also dressed in outfits from the music video, are the perfect guides for this adventure. Whether covering parts of the song on a xylophone, miming to Flowers’ comments, or taking the audience through a series of literally eye-opening ‘either/or’ scenarios, they draw everyone in. A brief detour into another YouTube video doesn’t quite work so well, but it’s not long before we get back on track for a barnstorming finale. My only gripe – and I fully realise this sounds petty in a show about karaoke – is the music clips and the pre-show songs being ear-splittingly loud, leaving my ears still ringing an hour later. Call me a killjoy, but I promise it wouldn’t detract from the fun if they turned down the dials a little, more closely matching the normal volume of Chapman and Follows talking to the audience or bringing out a saxophone to rival that xylophone.
In the words of the great Brandon Flowers, ‘destiny is calling’ you to see this show. Answer the call; you won’t regret it.
Written by: Tim Chapman and Hannah Follows
Produced by: Shepard Tone
Directed by: Alexander Hick
Dramaturgy by: Adam Gregory
Coming Out Of My Cage (And I’ve Been Doing Just Fine) plays at EdFringe 2022 until 28 August. Further information and bookings here.
