This satirical musical comedy show is billed as “an antidote to the manosphere, attempting to take down the worst people on the internet while asking the question, ‘Do I need a hair transplant?’” and it certainly does what it says on the tin.
Sebag-Montefiore, 35, wearing a purple satin shirt with black pedal-pushers and sockless loafers, is a bundle of energy as, strumming away fervidly on his guitar, he rips through a raft of self-penned songs lambasting the ne’er-do-well-to-do cabal and social media trolls.
Several “right-wing lunatics” are lassoed into a comedic circle and metaphorically whipped until their misogynistic and self-aggrandising proclivities are red-raw. It’s disconcertingly fast but if you miss a joke or two there’s sure to be another close behind.
Having a surname that just happens to be the same as what Wikipedia notes is an “influential British-Sephardic Jewish dynasty of financiers, philanthropists and writers” offers up another opportunity to rail at the online bigots who mistakenly assume he is Jewish. The Leeds-raised north Londoner also uses it to poke fun at antisemitic tropes, having failed to land any big acting roles courtesy of his namesakes.
The hailstorm of gags is interspersed by a mini-directorial AI voiceover, courtesy of Philippa Carson, the actress, which appears to emerge from an onstage laptop.
His gaze also turns inwards, or rather upwards, at his disappearing hairline and his insecurities surrounding it form a running theme throughout the show.
Near the end, Harry, a young, with-it member of the free-ticketed audience from Bristol, is invited to replace Sebag-Montefiore on stage to be the foil for a volley of heckles which he lobs over from among the seats.
“It’s well-written; he’s on-topic and up-to-date,” Harry says as Sebag-Montefiore hurriedly swipes digital payments from punters before heading off to another show.
- Will Sebag-Montefiore: Game of Phones
- Laughing Horse @ West Nic Records
- Until August 30
