Demi Adejuyigbe @ Pleasance Courtyard

Demi Adejuyigbe wins us over with sixty minutes of silliness and songs suitable for the musical comedy doubters

Review by Laurie Presswood | 12 Aug 2024
  • Demi Adejuyigbe

Demi Adejuyigbe is going to do one backflip. He definitely is – no, he's not going to back out this time. And why is he going to do this beautiful backflip? Why do men write poetry? Why do they go to the moon? Why do they learn to pole vault? To impress a beautiful lady of course.

Over the course of this hour, Adejuyigbe will walk us through his six-step plan for impressing his crush – he's put on this whole show just for her, but there's no reason we can't pick up some tips while we're here.

Something about the segmented structure, the stupid humour and surprise guests gives ...Backflip the feel of a Saturday morning kids’ show. That’s not to say that the tone is in any way condescending – and god knows the content isn’t child-friendly – but it feels both familiar and surprising, and it feeds your inner child. Don’t be put off either if the presence of songs scares you – this is musical comedy for people who hate musical comedy.

The universe of the show is wacky and silly and full of interruptions, and at the centre of it all is a winning lynchpin in the form of Adejuyigbe. Having created the show’s ludicrous premise he manages to keep the elements of this reality aligned for just long enough that we settle into it. The show’s also full of heart – even when he’s pushing the audience to their most uncomfortable.

Demi Adejuyigbe Is Going To Do One (1) Backflip is apex late-stage millennial comedy – if you were born between the years of 1985 and 96 and have a sense of humour shaped by chaos, fake-outs, and that one scene from Spiderman 3, then this might be the show for you.


Demi Adejuyigbe Is Going To Do One (1) Backflip, Pleasance Courtyard (Beneath), 25 Aug (not 12), 6.20pm, £9-15