Secrets Of The Simpsons: Stories And Scandals From Springfield – An Evening With Mike Reiss
Upstairs At The Gatehouse, Highgate, London
Touring until August 6. See ovation.com
Reviewer: Catherine Usher
Mike Reiss has spent four decades writing comedy material for the likes of Joan Rivers and Johnny Carson, as well as film scripts, material for TV shows and many episodes of The Simpsons.
Making his UK theatre debut, Reiss, an American, is a very confident, and charismatic storyteller. Obviously, he’s incredibly funny, but he’s also very genuine, witty and clever. He’s previously been performing on the cruise ship circuit and consequently his delivery is extremely polished. He’s clearly honed his craft – if, indeed, it ever needed honing.
His anecdotes are all very interesting and amusing, such as his inside knowledge on how The Simpsons was created (apparently, it was a rush job which Matt Groening had to conjure up moments before a meeting). Reiss comments about how The Simpsons predicted Trump as president 16 years before it happened – at the time it seemed a pretty bizarre idea, but there is method in the writers’ madness.
He delivers a whole section of the show about the science of jokes and seems thrilled to have an enthusiastic, knowledgeable audience full of Simpsons fans. The wide age range of the London audience on press night encapsulates the vast reach of the long-running show.
There are lots of jokes about Reiss being Jewish and the London audience seems slightly braced for discomfort, but he’s very at ease making jokes at his own expense. He went to Harvard and talks amusingly about comparing himself to classmates who are achieving more. But he has won four Emmys for his work on The Simpsons, so he isn’t doing too badly.
A Q&A section is included in the two-hour show and he seems enthusiastic about answering questions off the cuff. However, there are a few language barriers – when one man delivers his question in a very clipped, well-spoken accent (it is Highgate, after all), Reiss says with a laugh, “I’m sorry, I didn’t understand a word you said!”
Reiss’s fabulous show is touring venues in Stockport, Birmingham and Brighton, so let’s hope he can cope better with regional accents!
