Edinburgh Fringe 2024
My Last Two Brain Cells
Joe Pike and Tom Hazelden
Genre: Comedic, Comedy, Theatre
Venue: Underbelly
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
A hilarious show about the last two brain cells in Gary’s brain trying to save him from certain death. Even with the help of the audience, this proves to be quite a challenging task. This play had the audience in hysterics.
Review
Set in Gary’s brain, My Last Two Brain Cells is an absurdist, comedic play starring Gary’s last two brain cells with the audience as Gary’s hormones. This show returns to the Fringe for its second run after its success last year.
The hormones (audience) are invited to a tour of Gary’s brain. The tour is led by Brain Cell Number 12 (Tom Hazelden) and Brain Cell Number 64,928,460,784 (Joe Pike), or Clive for short; Gary’s last two brain cells. The play starts with Clive talking to the audience before eventually introducing Number 12 and the pair give audience members a chance to get involved by giving them specific hormone lanyards: Adrenaline, Dopamine and Oestrogen, with the techie as Tech-tosterone. When the pair discover Gary is dying and they are the last two brain cells left to save Gary, it is up to them and all the hormones in the audience to figure out how to save Gary.
Clive is a disciplined, nerdy stickler whilst Number 12 is a rambunctious, carefree jokester; the pair soon realise they are the worst combination of brain cells to get any job done. As the pair realise certain doom might be on the horizon, their attempts to save Gary become desperate, leading to even more malfunctions in the brain.
The storyline is absolutely mad and you cannot see what’s coming next. It was incredibly funny and the whole audience was laughing throughout. I was given the character of ‘Oestrogen’ and at one point during a shoot-off, I was even brought onto the stage which I thoroughly enjoyed. The other hormones (Adrenaline and Dopamine) were also interacted with throughout along with a poor soul at the back who was dubbed ‘Clive’s Mum’. The play involves audience participation, clowning, dancing, physical storytelling and even sing-alongs.
Both actors’ performances were incredibly focused and pumping with energy. Actors can sometimes seem stunted or slightly slow when reacting to the audience’s participation but their reactions were so sharp it seemed like they’d rehearsed the play with the audience. Both actors responded immediately to any audience responses, integrating reactions instantly and working their dialogue back seamlessly into the next audience question or the next part of the story.
They demonstrated a high level of performance IQ to respond to the audience and each other off-script, whilst advancing the story. The actors were fizzing with energy but still showed attentive listening in their performances which was a joy to watch. Actors can sometimes lose their grounding and lose their ability to listen on stage when they are this hyper but their energy was focused.
Constant audience interaction made us feel included in the story, asking us questions, getting us to cheer and chant, getting us on stage and making jokes about Clive’s ‘Mum’. It kept the audience feeling alive and made the audience a big part of the show which I always appreciate as an audience member, and it seemed everyone else did too.
I was particularly impressed with both actors when the two characters switched bodies. Both actors embodied each other’s characters’ physicality accurately and showcased their elite acting abilities. This wasn’t just a gimmick; they created genuine characters and served those characters well.
It is a quality script that gives the actors room to play, but this is a ‘Must See Show’ because of the two performers. Their intense, fiery energy was sustained throughout without any tension in their bodies. Both actors maintained grounded listening whilst keeping their intensity, a difficult skill to master, and their comedic timing was perfect for every line. The acting was live and fully present; it didn’t feel rehearsed and nothing was forced. Their performances were believable and you could see the actors were thinking the thoughts of their character’s onstage whilst reacting to anything the ‘hormones’ said as their characters. As an actor myself, I found their performances inspiring. The audience applauded, laughed and whooped continually then at the end, the show received a well-deserved standing ovation.
Bonkers, bizarre and insanely brilliant; this play might just make you laugh hysterically for the whole hour.
