Fringe 2022: Matt Forde – Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

If you’re looking for a comedian who responds impeccably well to his audience, humiliates the Conservative Party, the SNP, and Labour through impressions and powerful political facts then look no further. Matt Forde’s witty Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right will have you literally laughing so you don’t cry about the state of the UK.

A fantastically well-structured show that, unlike many other stand-up shows is void of dad jokes. Instead, Matt Forde’s extensive knowledge of the current and past British political climate has given him the power to utterly mock Boris Johnson (who is referred to as a luminous yeti), Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak to resemble dumb, dumber, and dumbest. At the start of the show, Forde unapologetically ridicules Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party for not only hosting but elevating sex offenders to higher positions within the Party. Then, Truss and Sunak receive their own fair share of mockery as Forde uses their own words against them by referencing their own policies and statements made in political debates and Sunak’s statements made at a Tory event in Kent.

Matt Forde is relatable, which is an unusual trait for a political comedian. Whilst his political views are more towards the left, Forde does well to criticise both sides to literally present clowns to the left and jokers to the right. He went on to criticise the SNP for their lack of empathy towards the taxpayer’s unintentional role in the Ferry policy scandal and their denial of being nationalists as they rather identify as ‘Scottish’ nationalists.

Forde’s comedic takes on both the left and rights views on the war in Ukraine reminds his audience that just as you think Forde is being biased to the left, he makes jest at right. He starts mocking the hard left firstly for the belief of some Labour Party members that NATO has brought this war upon Ukraine, which Forde takes great liberty in disputing using his own knowledge of NATO. On the other hand, he swiftly takes jest at Putin for essentially “trying to destroy a democratic state”. No side is safe from Forde’s creative scrutiny.

His ability to comedically educate his audience whilst gaining further audience interest in the show throughout was great. He used the classic trick of jokingly accusing audience members going to the bathroom for not agreeing with his jokes, which worked like a charm.

Matt Forde then went on to talk about the Women’s UEFA 2022 and rightfully congratulated the team on their historic win. However, he seemed to diminish the Lionesses’ win by constantly comparing more “polite” fans at the Women’s UEFA to the Men’s aggressive fanbase.

Overall, Matt Forde is one of the best political comedians in the UK, he criticises both sides of all political debates and is completely transparent about the UK’s terrible political climate with his audience.

Matt Forde: Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right is showing from August 8th-28th at Pleasance Beyond, Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33).

Press Image courtesy of the production company of Matt Forde