There aren’t many comedians who can appreciate and love both rave culture and Hans Zimmer, as well fit both of them into a sketch show, but Kit Loyd can. A hilariously wacky show, Frenzy takes the audience on a tour of relatable interactions and pop culture scenes with his remarkably accurate (sometimes bordering on creepy) impressions.
It’s these impressions that make Loyd a hidden gem of the fringe. Through his facial expressions and body language, the physical comedian so vividly brings to life a vast variety of characters across Frenzy. And though he does masterfully use audio clippings and music to fully execute many of his sketches, when you break it down, Loyd’s main humour comes from his impressions themselves. In fact, he displays this undoubtedly with a silent mime section where he flits between four characters on an airplane for about ten minutes. His superb acting and wonderfully comedic mind make for very entertaining sketches that had the audience cackling non-stop.
“We’re going out raving tonight after this” is a repeated promise of Loyd’s to the crowd from the minute he enters stage to a clubbing anthem. But we didn’t need to, he very craftily brought the rave to us. While Loyd acted as DJ, he assigned a couple of (highly committed) front row audience members to be classic club characters: pistol, strobe detective, and baywatch. But of course the rave couldn’t last forever, as the the monster of rave past was determined to cause havoc.
Evident not only in the rave scenes, but in Frenzy’s entirety, Loyd is a master of audience participation and engagement. Calling on different members of the crowd on different occasions by shouting “what’s your favourite thing that’s blue” kept everyone on the edge of their seats. Not out of fear, but out of eagerness. In fact, one woman couldn’t stop laughing so much when she was picked that she couldn’t even give an answer! The comedian’s friendly and charming personality works so well in the show by making the audience feel invested and connected to him.
Something Loyd admitted to early on is that the performance would get pretty weird. I think it’s fair to say that’s true. Consider this your warning: Frenzy is not for the faint hearted. But given Loyd’s comedic brilliance, I’d suggest you take the risk and give it a go.
Kit Loyd: Frenzy is running until 24 August at Downstairs at Assembly Roxy.
Buy tickets here.
Image courtesy of Dylan Woodley, provided to The Student as press material