Comic poet Tim Key educates his audience in the buying of ingredients needed to make a flan, the appreciation of Soviet lounge music, and “the thorny issue of dew”; these making up just a few of the topics that have traditionally been generally overlooked by both the comedy and poetry community alike. Diverse and varying areas of day-to-day life, that even the most observational of observational comics neglect to touch upon, have finally been lifted to glory by this wondrously whimsical performance poetry artist.

Disheveled, beleaguered and poetical were the words Tim Key used in describing himself to Leeds Student the week before his surreal performance of Masterslut at Leeds’ Carriageworks Theatre last Tuesday.

Whilst the audience took their seats, Tim Key was already onstage, beer in hand, casually pacing. Onstage with him was a large bath filled with foamy water. After initially ignoring it, Key eventually acknowledged the bath, introducing it as “the elephant in the room”.

Key delivered whole-heartedly on his promises of bathing and sub-aquatic art, spending large portions of the show with increasing degrees of his person submerged in the bathwater. During these bizarre underwater moments, a pre-recorded film of an underwater view of a partially submerged Tim Key was projected onto the back wall, cleverly creating the surreal illusion of the bath being Tardis-like. The bath acted effectively as a dramatic anchor for the show as well functioning as a means by which for Key to interact with his audience through both bath related banter and front row splashing.

“I counted to a hundred and said, “I’m coming!” but it was a trick and she had left me.” Key delivered this poem, amongst others, in delightful deadpan. Only the awkward yet fearless Tim Key could have seamlessly teamed the arts of sketch comedy, poetry and pornographic playing cards with Russian song, and a lengthy lecture on the processes of writing one of his carefully considered poems.

Poetic, certainly. Disheveled and beleaguered, Masterslut was anything but!

Sevya Bonin-Briginshaw