Robin Ince at the Phoenix - An Evening of Entertainment and Education

As part of the fantastic Exeter Phoenix autumn programme, Robin Ince came to visit. 

The auditorium was packed, so it's a good thing the Phoenix staff came up trumps to offer an alternative solution when Ince's laptop died. As a fan of stand-up, I found it unusual that a laptop was a necessary part of the show, but Ince makes it so and does a marvellous job of using a slide show as a visual prop to his verbal material.

Ince starts by describing the crux of his show, talking about 'everything I love about the Universe'. He gets his first big laugh admitting that the show was originally four and a half hours too long. So, the audience is treated to the condensed version. 

Without giving too much away, Ince engages the audience in an interesting combination between art and science. The art being his ability to entertain, whilst also educating the audience about lesser known facts of science and well-known characters of the field.

From Darwin and the barnacles to Feynman and the spaghetti, Ince draws the audience in by elaborating on stories that we would likely not have known about these science legends. 

His strength lies in telling stories so vivid that you can actually picture being at the events he describes. It's a kind of comedy you would normally enjoy on a Radio 4 Saturday afternoon show, rather than stand up. But Ince makes it work brilliantly. 

Entertaining and educational - a perfect evening's entertainment.