A riotous blend of dance, slapstick and nudity set to classical music transforms everyday embarrassments into gloriously absurd comedy.Rating
Unmissable!
Comedy sketch shows built around physical theatre and dance are a rarity – and genuinely successful ones rarer still. But with Derrière On A G String at King’s Head Theatre, the ambition is refreshingly straightforward: to entertain and, as the programme promises, give audiences ‘a bloody good time’. On that front, the production succeeds emphatically.
Across a breathless 75 minutes, the show unfolds as a series of sketches exploring the absurdities, humiliations, and occasional tenderness of everyday life. Blending physical comedy, dance, clowning, improvisation, and a generous helping of nudity, the piece constantly shifts in tone and style without ever losing momentum. The choreography is not only technically accomplished but sharply comic too, demanding the audience’s attention while repeatedly earning its laughter. Backed by a gloriously canonical classical soundtrack – from Tchaikovsky and Grieg to Vivaldi – the result feels both heightened and strangely relatable.
The production values are impressively polished throughout. Emily Bestow’s versatile set adapts fluidly between sketches, while Reuben Speed’s increasingly inventive costumes become a running joke in themselves. The arrival of a full swan costume is one of several inspired visual surprises. And for a show with costumes as extravagant as this, there is still an extraordinary amount of nudity on display – with jockstraps galore.
Derrière On A G String is more than a collection of disconnected sketches. Running gags thread the evening together, most notably the repeated use of O Fortuna to elevate the smallest inconveniences into moments of operatic catastrophe, from dropping your phone to missing your mouth while drinking from a can. The humour lands because the performances are so committed.
Sammy Moore emerges as a magnetic comic force, repeatedly turning his own misfortunes into battles with the audience itself, berating spectators for laughing while somehow encouraging them to laugh harder. Cam Tweed brings warmth and sincerity to sketches centred on romance and vulnerability, while Ryan Upton showcases his ballet roots with elegant pirouettes and arabesques woven seamlessly into the comedy. Courtney Cyrus excels in the show’s more overtly physical-theatre driven moments, Ena Yamaguchi balances contemporary dance with perfectly judged comic exaggeration, and Alice O’Brien repeatedly delights through painfully awkward interactions with the front row. Together, the ensemble’s precision and energy are simply immense.
But what is equally impressive is that, through Alfred Taylor Gaunt’s direction, the show understands the value of restraint. The laughs come easily and the sketches avoid any sense of self-indulgence. Beneath the silliness lies an impressive level of technical skill, with slapstick, dance, and theatricality working in careful harmony. In embracing the idea that dance can be joyous, ridiculous, thrilling, and risqué all at once, this production delivers exactly what it promises: a gloriously entertaining evening and a timely reminder of how exhilarating ensemble comedy can be.
Written and Created by Some Smith and Moore
Director/Choreographer: Alfred Taylor-Gaunt
Set Designer: Emily Bestow
Costume Designer: Reuben Speed
Lighting Designer: Andrew Ellis
Sound Designer: Findlay Claydon
Company Stage Manager: Elizabeth Khabaza
Derrière On A G String plays at King’s Head Theatre until 7th June.
