Avoiding pantomime: Bob Slayer’s Rock’n’Roll Cabaret

Bob Slayer’s background in music left him disappointed when he turned to comedy. “When I started getting up in comedy clubs I often found the vibe a little on the conservative for what I want to do,” he explains. “It was only natural that I would gravitate towards other outsiders who have a Rock and Roll attitude and who also like to shake audiences up.”

Originally finding himself on stage between rock bands, Slayer’s performance style is aggressive – “in order to stand out amongst bands I was used to punching audiences between the eyes, so to speak” – and he selected his bill accordingly. “All the acts are very individual. They do not conform and like to challenge everything. This is the essence of Rock 'n' Roll!”

Like the best cabaret, Slayer refuses to be tied to a particular genre, and hopes that the whole is more than the sum of the parts. “The traditional Comedy MC's role is to warm the crowd up and then to control the room and settle them down for the acts,” he muses. “I see it as much more important to create an atmosphere where anything can happen. And it frequently does. In this way I am more of a ring master.”

Perhaps inspired by the legendary Rolling Stones’ event, Slayer is determined to link up variety, circus and rock edginess. There’s even a hint of improvisation in his own set. “I don't have so much set material. I bounce of the audience with banter and stories that come out of the room.” This free-form attitude, he hopes, will infect the entire show. “Some of the best moments watching bands on stage is when a guest guitarist or singer joins the band,” he concludes. “A different energy emerges and in the same way I like to see Comedians spark off each other. The more it can become a complete show as opposed to a collection of individual sets, the better.”