Phil Nichol explains at the start that Your Wrong is a conventional storytelling show with a beginning, middle and end. This is basically true, but undersells it. The Canadian comic is such a bravura performer you always get something extra from him and this autobiographical gem is no exception.
The title comes from a Twitter spat in which an angry Flat Earther who took issue with Nichol’s rationalism could not get his grammar right. The theme here is faith versus reason. Why do we call things miracles, for example, when life is surely random?
Nichol talks entertainingly about his religious youth. He was brought up as a member of a Christian sect that he describes as so devout they thought buttons were evil — “the devil’s clasp” — because they made undressing for fornication easy.
Inevitably he rebelled when he went to college, studied drama and discovered drugs. His turbo-charged monologue takes us through rollercoaster romances and a marriage. And then more recently something of a rethink was prompted when his older brother was in a serious car crash. But revealing further details would spoil the story.
Needless to say we get considerably more than a basic yarn here. There is music, Shakespeare, impressions, an outstanding anecdote about stripping on The Weakest Link. There is enough here in 70 minutes to fill a bible-sized book. You’ll have to wait for the book though. In the meantime there are two more chances to catch this fabulous, life-affirming show.
Until December 1, sohotheatre.com
