The name Mike Birbiglia might not be as familiar to UK audiences as it is to comedy lovers across the pond. But the US based comedian, currently starring in his self-penned The Old Man & The Pool at the Wyndham’s Theatre, has an illustrious career behind him, with appearances on the Late Show With David Letterman, a recurring role in Orange Is The New Black and as a stand in for Jimmy Kimmel on the late night talk show.
Birbiglia has carved out a bit of a niche with stage shows that straddle stand-up comedy and theatre. His first show, Sleepwalk With Me, was adapted into both a book and a film. His latest show, The Old Man & The Pool picks up where his last stage show, The New One, left off, following on from the birth of his daughter.
Like his shows that have come before, Birbiglia uses this one to talk about his own mortality. You wouldn’t necessarily think such a topic would make for good comedy, but Mike Birbiglia has perfected the artform by simply being honest.
Directed by long-time collaborator, Seth Barrish, The Old Man & The Pool opens in a doctor’s office. Barely able to breathe during a pulmonary function test, his doctor can’t be sure Mike isn’t having a heart attack right there and then, and because his body is his biggest nemesis, he’s also later diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.
Birbiglia loves his family and knows his lifestyle needs to change. There’s a YMCA pool near his Brooklyn home, and under the advice of the doctor takes up regular swimming. Beowulf Boritt’s set is a wave of graph paper, onto which Hana S. Kim’s projections create the gentle ripples of (presumably chlorinated) water against blue tiles. It’s probably no accident either that Birbiglia’s casual shirt and chino’s combo subtly match everything else on stage.
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The comedy comes from the easy storytelling that Birbiglia employs; his visits to the YMCA might never have happened thanks to childhood memories of the changing room, all of which Birbiglia shares in his trademark slow and steady pace, which eases the audience into a primed state to laugh.
And laugh we do because this is a polished performance. That’s not a huge surprise given that it’s already toured in America, played on Broadway, and spent the month of August at the Edinburgh International Festival. It’s clear that Birbiglia and Seth Barrish have developed a well-oiled formula that really works, which aids the deliberately circuitous storytelling.
The Old Man & The Pool is a really touching piece of theatre, that also manages to be a hilarious night of stand-up. Bringing the two together is no easy task, but Mike Birbiglia’s natural rapport with his audience gives the show a real intimacy, even in one of the West End’s bigger houses. This is a short run for London but one we’re lucky to have.
