British Comedy Classics

Tim Minchin’s new DVD is full of irony, sarcasm, and a liberal dash of scepticism. Kicking off with an impressive, intentionally over-done entrance focusing on the egos of big name celebrities, he starts the show by telling us “nothing ruins comedy like arenas” – setting the scene for the following 2 hours.

Rock n Roll Nerd is a light-hearted story of a young man dreaming of playing on the big stage to thousands of fans – and while you kind of know it’s coming; when Minchin reaches the end and lets us in to that fact that he’s singing about himself, the laughs are just as appreciative.

With his ability to capture the audience’s attention as he leads up towards his next piece, you can’t help but find something to laugh at – even in his old material, which has been given a new lease of life with the orchestra behind it.

He’s just as irreverent as ever, with songs like Sam’s Mum and the always popular Pope Song making an appearance. As he launches into the latter piece, a cheer goes up – proving that it’s still a firm favourite with Minchin’s audience.

Tim Minchin has a great skill for making his audience both nervous about where he is going, as well as to keep them anticipating what he will say. Even from the comfort of the sofa, you can feel the strain the audience is going through as he brings out a copy of the Qur’an, places it next to a copy of Harry Potter and quite calmly discusses the significance of burning books.

Daring the audience seems to be a game to Minchin, as can be heard in Cont, where on first playing he seems to insult every possible minority group possible, leaving you feeling slightly uncomfortable when it reaches the end. However, as always, Minchin manages to alleviate any fears after revealing the true title of the song is not ‘Cont’, but in fact ‘Context’.

However, it’s not only irreverence and smart gags that make up the show. His closing number, White Wine in the Sun in tear-jerkingly beautiful, and as he quite rightly says, he gets trouble from his audience if he doesn’t play it.

Although it may not quite be a DVD for family viewing over the Christmas period, if you need a break and some light-hearted disrespect, Tim Minchin and the Heritage Orchestra is perfect viewing.