It’s been twenty years since Mike McLeish was abducted by musical theatre – stolen from his comedy career, and made to perform in Keating: the Musical for years. This year, he’s back at the grassroots – playing all Festival long at the Butterfly Club doing comedy. Cabaret, to be more specific, although he goes to great lengths to sum up all that he actually does! The show is directed by his daughter Finn, who was only a few years old when he hit the big time.
It’s ninety
days until Mike turns 50 – and he’s counting – and his new show is an evaluation of where he’s come from and where he is now. He admits to having
been addicted to a lot of things over his life, none more than the aforementioned
musical theatre. Doing a cabaret show is not exactly like going cold turkey,
but at least no one expects him to do an attention-seeking curtain call at
the end! Or do we?
As
always, Mike is charming and self-effacing, although he is wearing a neckerchief,
which does call attention to itself. He’s proudly leaning into singer-songwriter
and the musical comedy is where he excels. Not that the stories he tells aren’t
also delightful, but the songs are where it’s at.
An ode to a
Ford Ranger Raptor driver. A song about middle-aged married sex. A song written
to justify the title of the show about foxes and their surprising bisexuality.
It’s a random assortment, but they are all so wonderfully funny, it's easy to forgive the unevenness of some of the transitions.
Pensive Like a Fox is an hilarious collection of anecdotes. This is McLeish in a reflective mood and it’s a pleasure to be in his company.
- Keith Gow, Theatre First
The show is playing every night of the Comedy Festival, so there's no excuse for missing it!
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