Undoubtedly one of the stranger titles in the Fringe programme this year, ‘A Berkshire Boar Walks Into a Bar (and Gets Shot in the Face)’ is the debut hour from Seattle-based comic Gabey Lucas. And the show is as intriguing, unwieldy, and silly as its title.
In an interview with us last month, Lucas said the entire premise for ‘A Berkshire Boar…’ stemmed from being easily distracted on stage. The first few minutes confirms the truth of this when her attention keeps drifting to the slogan on an audience member’s baseball cap. But the subject that is really weighing on her, derailing her train of thought from subjects like post-structuralist unicorns, the linguistic limitations of toddlers, and snakes being made entirely of abs, is the Pig War of 1859. One of the frivolous moments of Victorian colonial history, the shooting of a pig on San Juan Island triggered a boundary dispute that threatened to escalate into full conflict between Britain and the US. War is hell. But sometimes it’s daft as well.
Lucas constantly deconstructs the show throughout, highlighting where she would have moved certain elements or added or jettisoned others depending on the makeup of her crowd. There’s a jittery, choppy energy to her on stage that she leans into rather than tries to combat and this adds to the sense of constant flux. It doesn’t lead to the most polished of sets, but it is indicative of an intelligent and versatile comic who is constantly evaluating and adjusting to her circumstances. It just so happens that she’s happy to show her workings and not just the result – like an old pocket watch with visible cogs.
It’s debatable how successful ‘A Berkshire Boar…’ is as a straight stand-up show. Lucas’ frequent pauses to remind herself to return to the jokes seem to be a feature of her style, not a bug. It might be more accurate to characterise it as a fine hour of storytelling with sharp comedic asides. The tale she weaves is captivating in its own right; of an obscure moment of insanity in the wider madness of imperialist history that would go down a treat with fans of podcasts like Lions Led By Donkeys or Behind the Bastards. It’s an absurd narrative full of petty disputes, pilfered potatoes, military incompetence, mutton-chopped generals called Winfield, and a cameo from Emperor Wilhelm I (because is it really a proper 19th century conflict if you can’t hurl a Hohenzollern in there?).
If you come expecting an hour of rapid gags, then ‘A Berkshire Boar…’ might disappoint. But if you crave something a little different from a fascinating and idiosyncratic performer, then this delightfully odd slice of dumb history with some equally absurd gags might just be for you. Gabey Lucas is one of those acts that tries something really different and if she decided to come back with another weird conflict next year – the 100 Hour Soccer War perhaps – like a comedy Ken Burns, that would be no bad thing.
‘A Berkshire Boar Walks Into a Bar (and Gets Shot in the Face)‘ is at Gilded Balloon Patter House – The Penny until Mon 26 Aug 2024 (except Mon 12 & 19) at 14:20
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