Pierre Novellie: Must We?

Edinburgh Fringe – Monkey Barrel

In Pierre Novellie’s Must We? we are once more treated to an acerbic dissection of societal phenomena, which is then mixed in with the odd deprecating observation. Novellie has a way of raising flags about things in a way that makes us consider them from a new angle that means we will never look at something the same way again.

There is arguably an element of philosophy in this show that is explained to us with such clarity that we can’t help but thinking about how it relates to us. This show appears more abstract and personal than perhaps Novellie’s previous hours as he dissects his own relationship to the stand-up genre,  society in general and logical thinking, and by extension makes about more generalised observations our relationship to society whilst railing against the expansion of the comedian’s role as a spiritual advisor to the masses. In answering the question posed by Must We? there’s an undercurrent resignation with a splash of vulnerability and concern, which adds flavour to Novellie’s usual dry and matter of fact delivery.

“Like watching a master craftsman at work”

Novellie has a knack for taking a joke in an unexpected direction, and has essentially perfected the technique and finding the humour and relatability in the most niche of subjects. In crafting each joke, he plays around with the logical thread that has the potential to throw us off-kilter at the drop of a hat; eg. even when the natural thought progression is logical, he only takes that up to a certain point and removes it or he follows that train as far as it would go, playing to the extreme, or even just lulling us into the rhythm of a particular image or metaphor before tearing down in a new direction. And in doing so he almost meta-games the comedy genre with the juxtaposition that he uses to talk about his central idea of the unintended consequences of pursuing a logical thread to the end, both small and large.

Must We is like watching a master craftsman at work (another addendum that Novellie can add alongside ‘philosopher’ to the list of roles he is assigned as a comedian). This show is a general musing on behalf of Novellie of the general situation, without any particular point driving it, more like raising awareness for a cause he’s passionate about than actively campaigning for.

By Katerina Partolina Schwartz

Photo Credit: Matt Stronge