Brighton Fringe 2021
Low Down
Brand-new comedy from the stand-up who cooks on stage. In this show he’s on the road! It’s time for Planes, Trains and Automob-meals (sorry).
George demonstrates how to cook with an engine, procure items from the train buffet trolley and turn unexpected roadworks into a picnic. Three plates of gourmet food cooked live in the most unconventional ways.
Review
Demonstrating the power of nominative determinism, George Egg brings together stand up comedy and the art of cookery. He imaginatively uses a selection of unusual items and situations to prepare and cook full meals. This provides a unique comedy/cookery mix, intermingled with the odd dash of poetry.
We are in The Warren’s big ‘room’ for a Saturday night, prime time, show. The evening is a sell-out, albeit with a suitably distanced audience. As we take our places, we can see the stage set with a table of ingredients and a black cloth draped over interesting pieces of machinery. George is back-stage preparing himself. To the crowd’s amusement, the local seagulls spotted lunch, and so begins a fascinating battle as they try to make off with the ingredients and George tries to save his show from their hungry beaks.
The moment was beautifully unscripted, it gave everyone much pleasure. If only there was a way to keep it in! Fortunately, George remained unflustered by the incident and it was on with the show.
George promises to use ‘transport machinery’ to cook a three-course meal. First up is grilled aubergine with Tahini dressing. Using an adapted laptop, a USB powered George Forman grill, he shows us how to prepare this while travelling on a train. It turns out that there are more resources you can ‘utilise’ than you might think. Whether it’s cooking utensils, power sources or ingredients, with a bit of imagination, cooking opportunities abound.
All the while, George seamlessly keeps up the chat, introducing; jokes, puns, comic asides, whimsy and humour. He does this with the ease of a TV Chef, timing everything to perfection. At one point he even introduces science into the monologue!
Everything he does is imbued with a gentle charm. There is a twinkle in the eye, a smile on the face coupled with a warm and engaging persona.
He, himself, describes the show as an entertainment that is part-comedy/part-lecture. This is an accurate description, we are a long way from traditional stand-up. The cookery is interesting, the audience are engaged, and drawn into whatever it is he is going to do next. At one point, I forgot I was reviewing the show and stopped taking notes. That doesn’t happen very often.
Moveable Feast is quirky, inventive and original. Maybe it isn’t always ‘laugh out loud funny’, but it does keep you chuckling along.
Between courses, George regales us with the promised poetry.
Next up, is the fish course. This time, we are cooking with cars, and foraging in an airport. There is rye bread soil, sous vide salmon and smoked mackerel. We learn the rules covering roadkill, how to poach in an expansion tank, and the delights of foraging in an allotment to make a rhubarb compote.
Fizzing with ideas, George tells of some of his inventions and continues with his humorous comedy.
Before we get to the meat course, as if on queue, the seagull is back.
Chicken in mustard and paprika, a Ceaser salad, and halloumi. Tools include a cement mixer and a car engine. You get the idea.
The only downside was that the size of the outdoor venue means that he has to use a hand-held mirror to show his finished dishes, whereas a video camera and large screen would be more suitable.
This is a fascinating and absorbing show, presented by a charming man with excellent comedic delivery. You can see why his ‘Snack Hacker’ following on Instagram is growing. It’s cooking but not as we know it.
George Egg’s Moveable Feast was one of my tips for comedy shows to see at this year’s Brighton Fringe, and I’m delighted to say he didn’t let me down.
