The Background Comedian

Written by @jdtoo

A horse walks into a bar and the bartender asks “why the long face?”… and so begins the half hour of Steve Sheehan‘s quaint and quirky show, The Background Comedian.

Steve wears a handsome Arab steed horse head. The surrealism and absurdity of this noble beast engaging with the audience keeps us chuckling. With stunning musicianship on the keyboard,  Steve takes us through a series of stories with predictable (but not obvious) punchlines. He transitions between the keyboard and a platform consisting of phonetic English translations of a German opera.  (I must admit it took me a while to understand this concept – so this heads up means you’ll be laughing earlier!). When Steve occasionally removes the horse,  we’re provided with a laconic, eccentric character who matches the show title to the tee. Well-renowned piano pieces also feature throughout the show.

Sadly, The Background Comedian only ran for one night at Tuxedo Cat – we hope to see Steve back again soon… For those heading to any other shows at Tuxedo Cat, don’t rely on the tea light candles for warmth – be sure to rug up!