Review-Elvis McGonagall-Not So Loud
11-12-13
By: Olivia Rosenman
Doggerel. It’s one of those words that you’ve heard often, a real ‘dad’ word. I remember my dad using it to describe my homework. But sitting down to write this review, I realised I wasn’t sure of its precise meaning. Having now read the dictionary definition, I’m not sure my dad did either.
Doggerel is, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, either:
a) comic verse composed in irregular rhythm
or
b) verse or words that are badly written or expressed.
It would be more than generous to describe my high-school homework as verse, leaving me doubting the strength of my dad’s vocabulary and the merit of his denigration of my homework.
I’m also left wondering which definition Elvis McGonagall intended in the title of his show, ‘Elvis McGonagall - One Man and His Doggerel!’. Not a suggestion that the second definition is accurate, not in the slightest. Rather, a comment on his self-deprecating, oh-so-British sense of humour, which I found to be sharp, energetic and hilarious.
Elvis burst on stage in a bright red, tartan jacket that matched his strapping Scottish accent. His hair is spiked, his eyes are sparkly and he has a strong stage presence. He quickly got the (mostly British expat, I suspect) audience on his side by making fun of Australians and describing the dreary state of work and wages in Britain.
Elvis’ poems are short, sweet and hilarious. So was the show. Elvis humbly thanked the audience for coming back after the interval, as if he honestly doubted they would. After two 30 minute halves, in fact I would have liked more. I did enjoy witty covers of trashy pop music that played before the show and during interval.
His subject matter appeals mostly to a British audience, referring often to British culture and politics. Considering there’s more than 30,000 British expats here in Hong Kong, that audience shouldn’t be hard to find. Indeed, the (small) theatre was at capacity on opening night.
Standout moments included a poem about the ridiculousness of the Masterchef craze, an ode to London’s “Bo Jo” and Elvis’ condemnation of Mel Gibson’s Braveheart – “the story of a Scottish hero depicted by an Australian midget”.
I personally loved his jab at bankers, but it was apparent that several bankers in the audience did not. My date suggested Elvis had filched a joke about climate change from George Carlin, an American comic of the eighties. There’s youtube proof to support the claim, but in Elvis’ defence, I doubt whether Carlin himself was the original inventor of the concept.
Overall Elvis is a talented writer of doggerel (of the first definition!), and an engaging and animated performer. The audience received him warmly and with great enthusiasm, including at least one fellow Scotswoman who voiced her enjoyment with frequent “Ayes”.
Elvis McGonagall is playing at the Fringe Club through December 14th. For more information, click here.
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