Angelos Epithemiou and Friends, Bloomsbury Theatre, London
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.BBC2's Shooting Stars provided the big break for Angelos Epithemiou and in a very short space of time, the dishevelled clown, who owes so much to the stylings of his hosts Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, has enjoyed a suitably stellar ascent.
The creation of Dan Renton Skinner, a former member of the Perrier-nominated sketch group Dutch Elm Conservatoire and regular of television comedies, Angelos has now fast-tracked to a lengthy live tour of good-sized venues. A boon for Skinner's career, then, and for Angelos – an ex-burger van owner who originated "from [the Greek island of] Tescos, two islands along from Argos", too.
Employing numerous devices to fill 90 minutes of stage time, including a quiz, a quick Q&A and a guest spot (from Mr Swallow, Nick Mohammed's zany character who was somewhat out of context tonight), Angelos serves up some hit-and-miss fare. While dancing to Lady Gaga seems to rely simply on Angelos's sartorially-challenged appearance (trousers that are too short and a kipper tie that is too long), his personification of animals mentioned in glam-rock hits is a successful example of the kitchen-sink surrealism he's borrowed from Reeves and Mortimer.
Singing French words to the theme tune of 'Allo 'Allo, mucking about with an inflatable hammer and quiz questions such as "What's the best of the main three things?" all fit comfortably into the school of Vic and Bob, but Angelos is still a fluid creation. He's packed a lot in to this showcase, including impressions that take him out of character.
Angelos's naivety and uncertainty, meanwhile, do surface from time to time as he gurns and slurs his way through the occasional malapropism, sometimes morphing words together that sound the same. His back story occasions some botched moments, something that needs to be addressed if Angelos is to sustain more full-length live outings in the future.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments