The Wedding

Andy Balloch has been to a lot of weddings – especially gay weddings – and in this sharply observed, sly and very funny show he creates a wedding for us, via the guests.  Dave and Tony just got married.  An accountant and a lawyer.  Who could be more normal?  This is the reception.  The DJ hasn’t shown up so the MC (Andy Balloch) fills in...  and marshals an array of speakers to commemorate this very, very happy event. 

All the usual suspects are here – and Balloch puts every one of them on stage.  The Best Man, the Best Mate, Tony’s Dad, the bogan Cousin – plus those who just have to speak – Uncle Pete, Aunt Cathy, sister-in-law Jessica, the drunken bridesmaid – plus the ubiquitous Woman who doesn’t know where to stand in the photos, and the guy who’s going to guzzle all the salmon vol au vents...  As the show’s poster says, ‘One actor, ten characters’.  They’re all marvellously economic and funny – but every joke has a sting in the tail.

Balloch’s approach is more like Brecht’s in that the actor should be like a witness describing a car accident, giving us the characters – and commenting on them at the same time.  A shawl, a jacket, some sunglasses, an unsteady glass of wine, some wince-making vocabulary, an accent, are all Balloch needs to establish a switch of character.  We recognise these people straight away and the real verisimilitude is there in the subtext.   

He skilfully avoids the obvious.  There are no drunken, angry rants, no religious condemnations.  But underneath the sometimes halting speeches, we can hear something that’s on the brink of an angry rant, or sheer distaste, or unconvincing attempts to be politically correct, or poorly disguised homophobia, or the inability to say anything remotely personal.  The best Aunty Cathy can manage is, ‘Nice ceremony... Cold...’ 

The MC is more honest, more revealing, more explicit – like that trip to certain venues in Berlin... And when a final reveal drops into place, it might break your heart.

This is character comedy at its best because it goes beyond mimicry to say something sometimes about what hasn’t changed, ‘equality’ notwithstanding.  The Wedding is not just a stand-up routine; it’s a whole play, a gay Dimboola in 2025 and all played by one clever, insightful comedian.

Michael Brindley