I have my ticket booked for Sean Hughes’ new show, Life Becomes Noises, says Kate Booth (@AndreaKateBooth) and here is why you should too…
When his father died, Sean decided that he wanted to write a show about how we deal with death. “There can be too much sentimentality in the media,” Sean explained to me, “I wanted to write something that was hard hitting and truthful, but also uplifting.” The reviews in the press and from the good people of Twitter indicate that he has more than achieved his goal. His show has been described as both hilarious and humbling; it is apparent that by dealing in truth Sean has really touched his audience.
“People have thanked me for doing this show, which is really special to me,” says Sean.
He is quick to point out that the focus of the show is not death, but life and relationships. “It’s not a lament or a tribute,” he explains, “the show is full of joy. The subject of death gives you the chance to talk about life; people really love it as it is about relationships.”
I asked him what his Dad would make of it. “He always loved what I did,” says Sean. “He would tell everyone including the window cleaner that I was on the telly, but he never really understood it. This time, he sort of wrote half of this show and so, spiritually, I feel that we’re doing it together.”
Sean has had success in so many areas, such as acting, writing (including novels The Detainees and It’s What He Would Have Wanted) and working on shows such as Never Mind the Buzzcocks and BBC 6 Music’s Breakfast Show. I asked him what his favourite is. “I do love stand up first and foremost,” says the Perrier Award winner, “and it was great to be back at the Edinburgh Fringe, but I do like to be able to do other things as well. This show brings a lot of things together and so I’m really enjoying it.”
You can expect this show to be filled with surprises. Sean’s PR describe it as somewhere between theatre and your traditional stand up gig, and the reviews promise acting, dream sequences and puppetry! There may even be a sing song. It’s no wonder Sean speaks about it with such enthusiasm, it is apparent that he is very proud of Life Becomes Noises and wants as many people to see it as possible.
So, what are you waiting for? Life Becomes Noises is on at Leeds City Varieties on 22 October 2012 (0113 243 0808), Wakefield Theatre Royal on 30 October 2012 (01924 211311) and Harrogate Theatre on 4 November 2012 (01423 502116). It promises to be a brilliant rollercoaster of a night out.
I went to see the show last night at the Varieties. It was an odd one. First of all it was a shame that there wan’t a bigger audience, maybe Leeds had other stuff on?
The show was brilliantly poignant in parts, having dealt with a death in the last few years, there were sections were the show helped me see through the grief that still comes back. That was particularly true in the section in the funeral directors, not a scene you’d normally get in a stand-up show.
While brilliant in places, for me Sean did come over very self indulgent at times. But then again what can you expect with a show about the death of his father.