Rob Kemp: The Elvis Dead
****
Fri 7 Jun, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff
No matter how much of a fan you think you are of the Evil Dead 2 you haven’t seen it, until you’ve seen it performed onstage by Elvis Presley, AKA comedian Rob Kemp. The cult classic includes a master class in overacting by cult favourite Bruce Campbell, which the West-Midlands born comedian is able to take to a whole new level. The multiple award-winning The Elvis Dead has been doing the rounds on the comedy circuit for 2/3 years now and has already hit Cardiff once before, but tonight’s show, part of the Go Faster Stripe Comedy Festival, has a slight edge to it given that it’s being recorded for a DVD. So as the people congregated at a pack theatre at Chapter take THEIR seats, the atmosphere is palpable.
Nerves have clearly hit Kemp too, as a long wait for his cue, forces him to come onstage too early, but the professional he is Rob rescues the situation with some quick improv. But when he gets into his stride, he doesn’t miss a beat. As the movie plays out on screen in the background, Kemp throws himself around the stage with a brutally physical performance that includes smashing himself over the head with plates, all the while belting out our favourite Elvis numbers with his own unique twist. Devil in Disguise becomes Deadite in Disguise and Viva Las Vegas becomes Read From The Pages, as over the course of an hour, Kemp wields a blood-spattered chainsaw and a shotgun over the crowd’s heads, whilst enduring the loss of an arm and demonic possession. It’s gloriously gory fun as the crowd sing and clap along. A particular highlight was Kemp’s rendition of You Were Always On My Mind now called Now I’m Sawing Off My Hand which he sings to his now possessed hand, hammed-up beautifully by Kemp. A minor mistake at the end sees the need for a reset but that ends up enhancing the show to hilarious effect, as the crowd and Rob interact to help him reach his cue and get to the end of the show. A rousing applause brings the show to an end and in keeping with the interactive feel of the show, we are invited to take photos with the props.
It’s a simple concept to take a cult movie, a legendary icon such as Presley and combine the two. Indeed, Rob threatens us with future productions such as Beatlesjuice but it takes a special talent like Rob Kemp to pull it off and pull it off he does. You don’t need to be a fan of either franchise to enjoy this orgy of gore and song.
words Chris Andrews
Rob Kemp was performing as part of the Go Faster Stripe Comedy Festival
