Benjamin Alborough review: Unruly and lively game show achieves Absolute Monopoly

Image: Matt Stronge

The ultimate game, the ultimate expression of capitalism, the ultimate ruiner of a Nice Evening In, is now the ultimate mess thanks to Benjamin Alborough. Mess in the best way. And it will undoubtedly prove to ruin Monopoly for everyone in this room forever.

What Benjamin has done is somehow to condense the game into one hour, using the audience as the board, some wearing beanies with property names taped on the front. Two players are plucked from the crowd and spend the whole next hour committed to playing.

Chance cards give the audience the opportunity to pick and vote in new rules. Haggling? Voted in. Accents? Voted in. Topless? Voted in. Actual money changed hands at one point. It’s unruly to the extreme, and Ben has a really rather genius way of dealing with the crowd: to go along with absolutely everything.

I don’t know about the other shows, but ours was very anti-landlord. The capitalist origins of Monopoly were absolutely not to be upheld, and so a Homeowners’ Association was started. One of the contestants on stage was at one point made to reveal actual proof of his mortgage. There was arm wrestling, partial nudity and a lot of milk.

I have a feeling that this is a show that relies somewhat on the audience being on board (eek sorry) and the two on-stage players having the same level of commitment to the game — thankfully, my show could not have been more keen to achieve Absolute Monopoly. Regardless of this, even at the most nonsense points, Ben held a steady and energetic hand on the tiller, not afraid to dish out punishments to anyone derailing proceedings in the wrong way.

Overall, it’s a show I’d love to go to again. Just an hour of unadulterated enjoyment: exactly what you want playing Monopoly to be!

Benjamin Alborough: Absolute Monopoly is at Assembly George Square (Crate), 5:50pm until August 28th. Tickets here.