Review: The Idiot Circus: Death is Coming

The Idiot Circus looks death in the eye and laughs in this chirpy tribute to the macabre. Mingling influences from cabaret, Parisian circus and Dostoevsky, the four musicians walk us through a colourful history of different kinds of death. One song lauds the French revolution’s “Madame la Guillotine”. Another is a romantic meditation on “le petit mort”. The ground that their lyrics cover is vast, though the music itself – fun and tightly performed as it is – varies less. 

Each song is rich in narrative, conjuring images of heartbroken lovers, family tragedy and a world marching on after your demise. If all of this sounds too existential, the band livens things up with cheerfully staccato notes on the ukulele and piano. One number about the Battle of Normandy mimics the absurdly upbeat tone of Oh! What A Lovely War (“It’s a bit of fun, isn’t it?” bellows pianist James Rowland, adding baritone harmonies to frontman Nick Court’s vocals). But the real triumph comes in the penultimate song, which depicts what Court calls “the worst kind of death of all – a living death”. “Do you drink early in the morning? Do you drink last thing at night?” he cries out, while Rowland accompanies him with mournful, Elton John-esque piano keys. 

Although somewhat static at the start, once the band hit their stride they bring a decent theatricality to their performance. Rowland especially makes a charismatic Pierrot. Less sad clown and more a clownish take on sad, The Idiot Circus is ideal for those predisposed towards black comedy.