Review: Gunge! A Show With Gunge In It!, The Stand Comedy Club, Newcastle

Picture the scene; two grown men in make-up and ladies’ underwear, aggressively singing Disney songs in a variety of accents before a baying crowd of children and adults.

For over a hundred people on a Saturday afternoon in Newcastle, this was not some sort of feverish nightmare, but a reality; a reality wrought by comedian Lee Kyle and his gunge-based kids’ comedy show.

A frantic, boisterous affair akin to the Saturday morning kids’ game shows of the eighties and nineties, Idiots + Gunge = Laughing has Kyle overseeing two teams of comics competing in a series of earsplitting games, to save their team captain from a gunging.

Featuring gung-ho contributions from Si Buglass, Cal Halbert, George Zach, Nicola Mantalios-Lovett, Sammy Dobson, and a hilariously child-averse Katherine Tanney, the show is laden with rapturous stupidity and plenty of near-the-knuckle asides for the grown-ups.

Frenzied rounds see participants – and plucky audience members – insulting each other, showcasing their special talents (quick heads up for the next show; if you can do something other than beat-box, you’re already ahead of the curve) and shoving a ghastly assortment of foods into each other’s faces.

In the spirit of such puerile gaiety of Dick and Dom’s In Da Bungalow – but with lower production values and actual comedians – Idiots… is full of psychotic, inclusive charm that even the hardest heart can’t help but be taken in by.

And if you’re not sold on the show yet, just know this; no matter your age or comedy preference, there is nothing not to love about seeing luminous goop tipped over someone’s head.

Date of live review: Saturday 17 January 2015 @ 2pm.