Jonny and The Baptists at Tobacco Factory theatre

On Sunday 12th April I went to see Jonny and the Baptists at the Tobacco Factory Theatre in Bristol. The duo consists ofJonny Donahoe and Paddy Gervers, and they are currently mid way through their latest tour. Entitled ‘Rock the Vote’, it’s a show that sits perfectly against the backdrop of the current general election build up. Fusing comedy, songs and a sharp satirical wit they occupied the stage for an all too brief 80 minutes. They have previously supported comedy acts such as Mark Thomas and Stewart Lee and their comedy is definitely in a similar vein but their delivery is very much in their own style.

 A quick show of hands within the first few minutes revealed that the majority of the front 3 rows have seen them before and were back for more. As the show progressed it was easy to see why, their set was filled with great British self deprecating humour with a naughty edge. They mined a rich vein of subject material from the current political climate, singing songs about their Oxford English Dictionary definition of the word ‘farage’ through to a love song to Angela Merkel (How many words rhyme with Merkel?!). There’s even a ditty about a zombie Michael Gove attack.

 I’m a big fan of musical comedy and this show was right up my street. At times it felt like an episode of Have I Got News For You set to music. Even their songs outside of politics were well measured and everything was delivered with a snappy, punchy style that had everyone laughing.

Fans of Tim Minchin, Flight of the Conchords and satirical stand up should definitely not miss this show and I will certainly be looking out for them in the future.

Jonny and The Baptists were at the Tobacco Factory for one night only, but you can see them live in April and May at a host of other venues. To find out more, see their website 

Review by David Blake