Imagine a quiz show accompanied by a live band. Now imagine that live band is playing a soundtrack which is being composed as the quiz progresses. Now imagine that it’s not actually a quiz at all, but is instead a series of game-show challenges that get progressively wackier as the evening goes on. This is the wonderful essence that makes up this year’s
The Horne Section is a fantastic evening of musical, light-hearted fun that will have you tapping your feet and singing along all the way home.
The eponymous Alex Horne ties all elements of the evening together as host, conductor and adjudicator - giving and taking points with reckless abandon, he introduces round after round with infectious excitement and enthusiasm. Horne’s repartee with the audience is second only to the banter between himself and the band, who take his increasingly odd instructions to the extreme. Their great comic timing and impeccable improvisation creates a fusion of musical, comedy genius live onstage.
Each evening’s special guests are given half of the audience as their supporters and, as with all good game shows, there are plenty of ways to get involved with helping your team to victory. Tonight our team leaders Al Murray and Tiff Stevenson provided great competition, with cheeky cheats and excellent improvisation to battle through a variety of tasks set by the charismatic Horne. My personal favourite was a voluntary contribution from the audience of various pieces of footwear in a mad, Crystal Maze-style race to the end between Murray and Stevenson. It’s impossible not to get caught up in the competition, along with the catchy songs and dances, many of which are adapted or completely improvised by the fiercely talented band. This is the stuff of children’s game shows, but very much for adults - it was a steep learning curve for two children in the audience tonight, but they were made welcome by the whole team throughout.
With more silliness than you can shake a saxophone at, The Horne Section is a fantastic evening of musical, light-hearted fun that will have you tapping your feet and singing along all the way home.
