Sean Morley @ Monkey Barrel Comedy

Sean Morley has long been a comedian who does exactly what he wants. A rhythm and pacing all his own; a fondness for deviation and self-analysis; an innovative approach to format: these are qualities that make it easy to label Morley a ‘comedian’s comedian’.

In Backchannel, all of these features are again in good evidence. Morley’s interest here is in the relationship between audience and performer, concocting a series of set pieces to illuminate those dynamics. On entry, for example, we see screens with a script for the start of the show, in which Morley will play-act a death and the audience will watch on. 

Later, we’re treated to a crowd work section that, during the crowd work itself, interrogates the power dynamics of such an interaction in an intentionally internecine and baroque way. He’s joined for much of it by a digital twin, for immediate and recursive auto-commentary. And in the show’s latter half, Morley opens up the show for live, technologically-enhanced audience feedback – or he sort of does, at least, while always playing with those ideas of power and control. 

If that all sounds a bit intricate, self-conscious, or ‘inside baseball’ for a regular comedy-goer to enjoy, it’s worth mentioning the most fundamental aspect of a Morley show: playfulness. If the ideas are lofty, their execution is always grounded in comedy, and always helped along by Morley’s gentle ease as a performer. If his greatest comic gift is one for making heady ideas funny, it’s aided enormously by a physical gift: a wide, cheeky grin that tells us that it’s all just a bit of fun.

“You are supposed to enjoy the show,” Morley says at one point, tackling and undercutting that reputation for the more cerebral. That shouldn’t be hard for a show as smart (and silly!) as this.

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Sean Morley: Backchannel, Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Studio), until 30 Aug (not 20), 7.50pm, £13.50/£11.50