iPhone users and ‘Other’ phone users are separated upon entry into the ever enchanting Spiegeltent that has been packing them in on London’s Southbank all summer. Head-to-toe in gold sequins, Miss Behave charmingly barks orders at us, gently ribbing everyone and getting us in the mood for the conflict ahead.
Gameshow is an anarchic delight, pitting the audience against each other in what feels like a fight to the proverbial death. Miss Behave and her glamorous assistant Harriet (a bearded, red-lipsticked, short-shorts wearing Harry Clayton-Wright) deftly works everyone up as easily as tickling a five year old and stuffing their mouths with chocolate. Within about five minutes ‘iPhones’ and ‘The Others’ are jumping out of their seats, screaming answers and dancing in the aisles in an attempt to impress Miss Behave. She nonchalantly awards points for the most random of remarks, which at first causes outrage: ‘What can I say? The world is unfair.’ Cheating, thinking outside of the box and standing up for yourself is greatly encouraged. As the evening of silly games continues the competition spirals brilliantly out of control as people get ever braver. Poor Harriet had her shorts ripped to shreds as a man leapt onstage, grabbed her round the waist and attempting to get to what was scantily hidden by the skimpy fabric. Miss Behave simply laughed and drily awarded points to the iPhones’ score.
Miss Behave sprinkles the gameshow with guest acts for our viewing entertainment. Having been the MC for La Clique and La Soiree she certainly knows how to pick them. Kalki the Hula Girl is an impressively faux-drunken hula-hooper whilst Bruce Airhead getting himself into a giant green ball is an utterly surreal and madcapped act that needs to be seen by all. My jaw ached from laughing at Raymond and Mr Timpkins’s Out of the Box. I’ve tried to describe it, but on paper a cheesy-hit montage accompanied by words from said songs on piece of card sounds dreadfully dull. Not so! Who would have thought that putting the word ‘ME’ on a piece of cardboard in a corner and pointing at it whilst Michael Stipe sings ‘That’s me in the corner’ could be so devastatingly funny. I could watch them all night.
Gameshow is a simple premise, brilliantly executed. The entire performance is full of biting wit, perfect pop-culture quiz questions, littered with ridiculous and hilarious dancing from Harriet (undoubtedly the star of the show). As we violently threw neon balls at each other, we danced out of the Spiegeltent, shrieking the lyrics to Rihanna in search of more hedonistic Saturday night fun. Thanks team #MBGS.