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House Of Life theatre review: A funky feelgood confessional

Showbiz patter and evangelical pizazz brought to a show with mass appeal

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House Of Life theatre review: A funky feelgood confessional

Salvation may be hard to come by at the Fringe, but for seekers on a mission to find transformation, you might just have met your Mecca in this hour-long celebration. It begins and ends with comic euphoria and some serious fun in between, helmed by the congregation’s leader, the almighty RaveRend, a funky soul brother assisted by a guy called Trev. Together, they lead their flock in a glorious call and response that breaks down the liberating force of dance music into a multi-step self-help programme to enlighten and amuse. 

Presented by the Nottingham-based Sheep Soup company, this makes for a glorious double bluff of a show that becomes the grooviest feelgood confessional in town. Audience input to how things go is crucial, with a mass chant of ‘Fuck Tommy Robinson’ and a communal conga particular highlights of a sold-out show. As RaveRend, Ben Welch invests his alter ego with a mix of showbiz patter and evangelical pizazz, all the while remaining sensitive to an audience’s need to offload. As Trev, Laurence Cole makes for a geeky foil who also provides a full phat soundtrack from a bank of electronic jiggery-pokery that suggests the devil doesn’t really have all the best tunes after all. Sing hallelujah and stay happy. 

House Of Life, Underbelly Cowgate, until 25 August, 8.55pm.

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