Joe Kent-Walters is Frankie Monroe LIVE!!! review: A laugh-a-second show

Edinburgh Fringe

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Edinburgh Fringe 〰️

by Zoe Paskett

Joe Kent-Walters has signed a deal with the devil. It seems like in return for satanic forces grabbing hold of his character Frankie Monroe by the balls, Joe gets to have an absolutely smashing Fringe debut.

It’s the kind of act made for the late-night-show-in-a-low-ceilinged-basement that spreads around Edinburgh like wildfire. Though anyone who has seen him before won’t be at all surprised at his success.

Armed with an inch of lager and a banged up old suitcase, Frankie Monroe cuts a grotesque figure as he lumbers up the aisle to ominous music. His rasping baritone and sudocremmed face thrust into the front row, he demands a nervous audience member call him “Daddy”. And yet, for all his broad-shouldered, domineering monstrosity, this character is strangely likeable. 

Frankie Monroe is the owner of a working men’s club in Rotherham that’s also a portal to hell. Having made a deal 24 years ago that the club could stay exactly how it was, he’s doing everything he can to hold on, even as his fiendish business partner, the Committee, tries to resurface and take what it is owed. This involves appearances from his fanged nephew, a Johnny Cash impersonator and a nightmarish dog puppet with a knack for voices. It’s a one man variety show from hell.

As the show goes on and most of the sudocrem transfers to the huge, hunched shoulders of his massive jacket, we see Joe underneath. The character doesn’t slip, but it’s clearly down to Joe that this extreme caricature entertains more than he terrifies. In another comic’s hands, it might be unpleasant or threatening, but paired with the surprisingly gentle way he interacts with the audience, Frankie’s presence is nothing but enjoyable.

The show is both a desperate elegy for an era gone by, for a type of performance rarely seen, for the decreased prevalence of working men’s clubs in this country (having dropped by 75% in the last 50 years – I looked it up), while at the same time parodying the type of ageing performer stuck in the past and unable to move on.

Or, you know, it’s just a very silly character show with crap magic and games like “guess which Marigold has the scampi fries in it”. Whichever way you choose to see it, it’s a laugh-a-second show from a hugely welcome and warm presence in the comedy scene. Just don’t touch his special trowel.

Joe Kent-Walters is Frankie Monroe: LIVE!!! is at Monkey Barrel (MB2) at 23:25 (sold out!).

New dates added: Monkey Barrel (MB4), Aug 25-26th at 01:15. Tickets here