Review: Badass Be Thy Name (Police Cops)

I don’t think I can stress this enough, it is so good to be back. The sun is shining, the tinnies have been drunk and I am sitting in The Warren, awaiting the award winning comedy trio: Police Cops. Just months ago this would have seemed like the stuff of dreams but here I am. Comfortably spaced out from my fellow spectators and sipping an absurdly priced gin and tonic. Nature is healing.

Badass Be Thy Name begins and I’m transported to Manchester, 1999. A new millennium is approaching, United are up for the treble, and the rave scene is at its peak...Oh, and some vampires are on the loose...and the devil is involved because he wants to try the sweets (drugs) that are on offer, so he does a song about it, and there’s a sort of Star-Wars-Father-Son thing going on at the same time and one dude gets his bum out and - actually, you know what, it doesn’t matter. I was laughing too much to pay attention to the nuances of the narrative arc. It’s funny, that’s what you need to know.

This trio are at the top of their game and are clearly enjoying themselves. Their excitement is infectious and we can’t help but laugh along with them as they improvise their way through scenes that were meant to be performed in complete blackout (currently impossible in an open-air theatre with sunlight pouring in, thus leaving their small flashlights hilariously pointless). I'd love to point out some highlights but the fact is this show is basically one highlight after another, each moment full to burst with inventive and wheeze-laugh inducing gags. I can’t express in words the joy I felt guffawing, along with a hundred strangers, at three performers in complete control of the audience, but if I had to choose some I’d say that this show is exactly what I needed after a truly miserable year: high-octane, relentless, infectiously silly, five-star comedy. Do not miss them.

Badass Be Thy Name is on until the 12th June at The Warren in Brighton. Tickets are available here.