Pointless Anger, Righteous Ire 2: Back in the Habit

If, as John Lydon proclaimed in PiL’s 1986 hit ‘Rise’, "anger is an energy", then Fringe regulars Michael Legge and Robin Ince could plug this show straight into the national grid. There’d be enough anger generated in one hour to keep the Stand running for a year.

The premise is simple enough: a member of the audience volunteers something that makes them really angry, with the crowd voting on whether their disaffection is justified or pointless. The results, at times, are pure comic gold, from people meditating in cafes to leaving used swabs in public places.

Fresh from last year’s show, Ince and Legge are seasoned guides through this sea of discontent. The former cuts a slightly misanthropic, croaky voiced figure, skulking around the background, making the occasional caustic interjection, while the Irish funnyman leads from the front, conducting the votes and mocking some of the more foolish suggestions from the floor.

About halfway through, once the sell-out crowd has burned themselves out, the pair turn to a list of their "angry heroes", which includes the unctuous Amanda Platell, Wayne Sleep and "people who say 'see Bridesmaids, you must see Bridesmaids'". As if that isn’t enough animosity for one afternoon, Ince reads a wonderfully disturbing extract about killing a wasp from his angry hero par excellence, Klaus Kinski.

Anger might be pointless most of the time, but that doesn’t stop it being damned funny too.