I will hereby abstain from ‘reviewer talk’, probably sacrifice my hopes of a career in journalism, and speak frankly: Go and see this f**king show. If Flight of the Conchords met Moss from the IT Crowd, and they had two illegitimate love children that they then left them in a room unsupervised – this would be the result.
Going to see IT Rock ‘n’ Roll: Business Trip to the Future is more than worth it
Lloyd Henning and Peter Sutton are two real-life computer programmers who have always wanted to become rock stars, and in the process have created one of the best comedy shows I have ever seen. Their quirk of doing stand-up musical comedy with no comic experience works well for them. Henning and Sutton have developed a very conversational and irreverent comedic style, making you feel at ease and welcoming to anything that they suggest. Some other performers make this style look amateurish, but Henning and Sutton make it work, and are the perfect complement to their own programming genius.
They have taken the time to combine technology, music and games to create a performance that involves the ultimate audience participation in a musical comedy show. Their set is comprised of different games, songs and jokes that get the audience involved at every opportunity. If producers saw the kind of technology on show, they would be gagging for the creative rights. Henning and Sutton have given every single member of the audience an opportunity they have never had: to be a goddamn rock star.
It’s hard to pick my favourite moments; the audience were laughing consistently throughout. But just to give you a taste, the pair play Gary Numan’s Cars with a synthesiser, a projector and their entire body, invite you to destroy an evil robot in Edinburgh, and let you sit an interview to become their intern by shouting into a cartoon dog. The dog’s “Rear Interface” to be more specific.
This is a show for everyone, from the super geeks down to those that just like playing Angry Birds or have a Facebook account. And though it is a bit out of the way, going to see IT Rock ‘n’ Roll: Business Trip to the Future is more than worth it. In fact, as the run of shows goes on and they become more experienced, Henning and Sutton’s humour should only get better.
