words Rhiannon de Meulemester
Alex Horne and his Horne Section are sure to impress audiences this month. Abetted by a crack collection of jazz musicians, Horne creates a performance that blends stand up comedy and music in time-honoured cabaret fashion. They may have the means to play jazz – bassist Will Collier has referred to the Horne Section’s music as ‘eclectic’, but they don’t identify with the genre, Horne going as far to say he can’t stand jazz. Rather, the band create their own unique style of music, built out of whatever is required at hand for their semi-improvised and ramshackle shows.
Horne has a long history as a comedian, making his first appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe almost 20 years ago. With aeons of experience in both standup and television, he knows exactly how to sustain the attention of large crowds, using a musical backdrop to enhance his comedic storytelling whilst peppering the atmosphere with one-liners. The Horne Section, meanwhile, share a close friendship that improves their onstage dynamics as they improvise and bounce off one another. The musicians often follow Horne’s whimsical flights of verbal fancy, so Horne Section nights are loaded with spontaneity – no two nights are the same, with punchlines landing elsewhere, each audience taking home with them a different experience.
Alex Horne is also the creator of Taskmaster, a show that judges comedians and their abilities to complete different, mostly ridiculous tasks; that anarchic attitude is carried over into the Horne Section tours, which have already seen a number of sell-outs. Their charismatic attitude as a whole has garnered sheaf’s of positive reviews, with nary a dissenting voice amongst them. There’s plenty of audience interaction too – drummer Ben’s previous exploits include the construction of a drumkit from audience members, whilst Horne himself has a predilection for subjecting those members to gameshow-type shenanigans. Good clean fun, then, but those of a nervous disposition may want to avoid the front row.
St. David’s Hall, Cardiff, Tues 24 Apr. Tickets: £15 Info: 029 2087 844 / www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk