Guy Montgomery @ Assembly George Square

Guy Montgomery wins the award for most apt (and least succinct) title for his show about checking his privilege by taking on shameful moments from his past

Review by Thomas Hamill | 09 Aug 2019
  • Guy Montgomery @ Assembly George Square

Before the show begins, Montgomery gets the audience to write things from their past that they’re ashamed of, and put them in a bucket on stage. And so the premise is neatly laid out; looking back on the things from our past that we’ve tried to forget. 

Montgomery is a competent performer pulling notes from the bucket and riffing from them near instantaneously, showing off his effortless wit. No surprise, then, that he’s also a member of New Zealand improv troupe Snort (also featuring Rose Matafeo and Chris Parker). 

He’s a chill and cheeky character; his conversational style makes for great moments of satire and self-deprecation which keep the show moving at a brisk pace and the jokes easy to consume. Different ideas spurt from the privilege bucket and culminate in fun observations before jumping back into the original material and shunting the hour along. 

The craftsmanship of his material is really showcased towards the show’s finale as Montgomery recounts an anecdote about some of his own reprehensible behaviour. He precision-engineers moments for comedic value but also takes a step back to bring some perspective to the events he describes. 

It’s easy to take on privilege from a societal stance and place blame, so it’s refreshing to hear someone point at themselves and say “I’m the problem”, whilst proving that a show doesn’t have to be preachy or melodramatic to make a point.


Guy Montgomery: I Was Part of the Problem Before We Were Talking About ItAssembly George Square (Studio 4), until 25 Aug (not 14), 8.55pm, £8-11