Phil Green is of that specific ‘Xennial’ sliver; not quite old enough to be solidly Gen-X, but a bit too old to be a proper Millennial. As he cogently puts it, he’s nowhere near as mindful of mental health as a true Millennial, but is able to suffer the inevitable breakdown in a house that he owns. Full disclosure, it’s a tough show to gauge at first, given how familiar so much of his own experience is to some of us of the same vintage. When each section has something in it to provoke a shiver of recognition, it hoofs the critical faculties in the knackers a bit. Still, as befits this demographic, it’s time to shove those concerns way down deep where they will surely never resurface in the form of a perforated ulcer, and judge this unremarkable but entertaining hour on its own merits.
The comedian returns to 2011, a year in which he attended four weddings and endured a protracted mental episode. He also, for some reason, ties this narrative into the fluctuating careers of protean popstars, Sugababes. An affable performer, Green focuses on mental health, while touching on generational differences (bringing the Boomers and Gen-Z into the mix), his relationship with his parents, and the inability of men to speak to each other openly about their problems.
The conclusions that are drawn are fairly broad, and it’s possible for a seasoned watcher of comedy to plot where the callbacks are going to appear in advance. The recurring figures of the Sugababes also serve to merely muddy a narrative that is already perfectly well-served by structure of the four weddings. Yet, for the most part the show works. Green is a polished performer, very easy and natural in front of an audience, and nimble enough to take some minor technical issues in his stride with a nice riff on the importance of comic timing.
There is also an endearing, guileless earnestness to ‘Four Weddings and a Breakdown’, which is perhaps why when those moments of recognition hit, they hit hard. The reaction of the audience suggests that the show was striking a chord across multiple generations.
A genial, heart-on-sleeve, slightly awkward but deeply-felt manly hug of an hour, ‘Four Weddings and a Breakdown’ plays it big and broad, clearly casting as wide a net as possible, but the empathetic content, and good-natured labrador energy on display is ultimately a winner. Although, sorry Phil, but Timothy Dalton is absolutely the best Bond.
‘Four Weddings and a Breakdown’ runs until Sun 27 Aug 2023 at PBH’s Free Fringe @Banshee Labyrinth – Cinema Room at 14:40
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