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Superbard and the Sexy Quantum Stories

 
Jade French Review by Jade French 3 Published: 18 Aug 2011 Show Dates: 31 Dec 1969-31 Dec 1969

Jumping aboard Superbard’s storytelling train is a bit like riding shotgun in Doc’s Deloreon; you’re going to suspend your disbelief and hope he doesn’t crash. This is clever storytelling, diverting away from traditional inroads to create a new kind of folklore. Namely one which is preoccupied with the sexual prowess of big, blue aliens, the inner monologue of a busty blonde porn star and wondering ‘Is this a cone?’. The answer is yes, it is. The stories link up to explain the life of Steve, a boy who has troubles with masturbation and meets the love of his life on Chat Roulette. The question asked is this: what would have happened to Steve if he had taken the change to sleep with a prostitute alien instead of refusing this kind, if surreal, offer? What follows are a series of stories, sometimes sad and often hilarious, which chart the progress of Steve’s existence. It is only when a giant floating head appears that he is offered a ‘do-over’ to change the decisions made. From tales of poetic porn to mental breakdowns the narrative twists and turns at break-neck speed with the last story settling the pulse to explore a more moving side of the character. Plus, the love of Steve’s life knows the plot to the best movie ever written and when this teaser eventually is revealed the audience are not disappointed as a cleverly produced video montage ends the show. Superbard’s mixture of story and song are held together with a big dollop of self-confidence, which luckily doesn’t blur into the lines of arrogance. This might not be humour to suit everyone’s taste. There is a dash of ‘the Inbetweeners’ style awkwardness, with the delivery of Superbard sometimes turning into a Simon Bird impression, and the comic aspects often run parallel between clever and crude. Despite this, Superbard is a unique raconteur managing to hold together each thread of the story and pulling them together neatly at the end.

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The Blurb:

Superbard (Newsnight, Jeremy Vine Show) brings the darkest whimsy to a multimedia sensory overload. Kafka meets YouTube. This is Spoken Word, but not as you know it. 'Funny and inventively surreal' (ThreeWeeks). www.teafuelledart.co.uk