Live Comedy Review
The Greatest Performance of my Life with Justin Moorhouse
Huntingdon Hall, Worcester – 29th March 2025
The odds are even that you know Justin Moorhouse from the seminal comedy Phoenix Nights. However, the “rotund Northern funny man” is greater than the sum of his parts. As this night of two halves proved!
The well-rehearsed getting to know you routine at the start – traditional question and answer session – was as unpredictable as a hand of cards being turned over. Moorhouse was content to humour the disarmed drunks and the erratic roulette wheel of intoxication served a purpose. Moreover, the comic’s professional and comfortable approach ensured the laughs came even quicker than the unfocused ramblings of the gentleman on the front row. I would like to bet the gent’s night was memorable…“Have you had a little drinky-poos?”
At the start of the second half Moorhouse acknowledged the role the stewards and the Management played in making the night even more memorable for our mercurial, first row interloper. What a performance…
The show’s title, The Greatest Performance of my Life, appertains to the truth we are all actors hiding behind our roles. Comedic exploration of the subject alighted on the “Dickhead police interceptors” touring our motorways…whiskey, alpha, November, kilo, echo, Romeo…over. The coy lady next to me felt the need to hide her laughter behind her hand.
Moorhouse’s role as a parent also came under scrutiny. The stunning realisation that he had become “woke” was as much a surprise to him, as certain family members, apparently, had sympathies with rabid ring-wingers. The extended laughter rose quicker than stiff-armed salutes at a Nuremberg rally.
The garrulous stand-up revels in story-telling and his appreciation of language is obvious. Introducing his need to lose some weight, the comic admitted his previous distaste for lycra-clad, middle-aged men on bikes, referring to them as pedal-philes. However, the family rallied round Moorhouse when his escapade on his electric bike ended unceremoniously in the local park. And I don’t care if the performance of the couple “dogging” in the bushes was a fabrication.
Genuinely, Moorhouse’s real skill is the ability to take the energy from the room and reflect back to his audience. His innate talent to judge a room like a winning racing tipster reading the form book is admirable. He makes the art form look easy, as he leans at ease on the mic-stand. Furthermore, managing to weave the audience member’s stories from the first half into the main show is as unpredictable as guessing the lottery numbers and the bonus ball.
The bonus of witnessing a true advocate of stand-up live is the life-affirming moment when the enraptured audience and the lone speaker connect. When Justin Moorhouse narrated the final ten minutes of his show, we learnt of the comic’s oldest friend (They walked hand in hand to school on his first day.) and how the loaded dice of fate had determined his outcome. We laughed, eventually, of course, at his performance alongside the hospital bed but we also had much to think and talk about. Much like the gent on the front row, who will be rising phoenix-like on Monday for his role with the Gambling Commission – yes, we all have to think about what motivates our daily performances. Justin Moorhouse gifted a truly motivational performance for yet another great night at our Huntingdon Hall…a venue which fully understands its role!
By: Swilgate Scuttler