REVIEW | The Old Man & The Pool, Wyndham’s Theatre
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Reviewer - Russell
*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review
There are two ways of reviewing Mike Birbiglia’s show at Wyndham’s Theatre.
The easy way…Mike is brilliant, go see his show.
Or the slightly more detailed way, which boils down to the same thing. Mike is a brilliant, brilliant, clever, funny, loveable comedian at the top of his game who can tell beautiful, magical, engrossing, simple, heart-warming stories, mixed up in a high concept comedy, that will have you laughing and unexpectedly moved to tears.
Mike is a good man.
That’s easy to see.
And I’m guessing that he’s always been a good man and that he comes from a long line of good men. Unfortunately, the long line of good men have a tendency, at the age of fifty-six, to have heart attacks and die. It happened to his dad, who Mike assures us was a good man and also to his grandad, who Mike assures us was also a good man.
So with this in mind, Mike, a good man who is in his mid-forties and has a history of health issues, decided to go and see his doctor and maybe get some tips on how to avoid his looming demise.
His doctor recommended a more active lifestyle, which could include swimming, hence the title of the show, and the simple backdrop, which is a clever use of blue tiles to display what appears to be the swimming pool at his local ‘Y’ (YMCA).
Yes, they have swimming pools at the YMCA in America.
So, feel free to sing along ...
Young Mike, there's no need to feel down, I said
Young Mike, pick yourself off the ground, I said
Young Mike, 'cause you're in a new town
There's no need to be unhappy
Young Mike, there's a place you can go, I said
Young Mike, when you're short on your dough
You can
Stay there, and I'm sure you will find
Many ways to have a good time…and feel healthier and perhaps not have a heart-attack at fifty-six.
Mike’s never been much of a sporty guy, that’s why his doctor’s advice is so unwelcome, and we get to hear about his various fails at any sporting activity throughout his life.
There’s a little sniff of Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse’s ‘Gone fishing’. Not deliberately. But it has the same feel-good factor and serenity and even the same whiff that this marvellous person we’re watching, who is so life-affirming and so full of joy, might not be here forever so you should enjoy every moment of your life. And it certainly makes you think about your own lifestyle and what you should be doing about it.
Thanks for that Mike.
Mike’s health scare has made him look closely at his life and re-evaluate what's important to him. It’s quite clearly his family and he tells us in heart-warming, but never ever mawkish, detail about his six year old daughter, how close they are and how funny she is. These quieter moments, without ever being heavy handed, are ery moving and you could hear oohs and ahhhs and manly gulps, and tears being wiped away throughout the theatre. There’s always a laugh to follow the emotional moments, this isn't a misery comic. This is a very likeable man telling us, very slickly, about his life.
The Old Man & The Pool is on at Wyndham’s Theatre for a month (with two shows on Wednesdays and Saturdays) and if you get the chance, I highly recommend you go and see him.
You’ll leave the theatre feeling better about yourself.
Mike does that.
At Wyndham’s Theatre until 07 October 2023.