The Mighty Boosh star Noel Fielding returned to his old stomping ground in Croydon on Friday for one of three London performances of his new stand-up tour.
Regaling his journey from self-proclaimed street-dwelling chav to fine art student, Fielding’s return to a packed out Fairfield Halls felt like a special occasion as he expressed his fondness for the town he spent much of his early years.
Fielding,who is no stranger to south London after growing up in Mitcham, also played at Bromley's Churchill Theatre and the New Wimbledon Theatre earlier this week.
The show took audience members on a whirlwind tour of Fielding’s colourful imagination with the help of some familiar faces from the Mighty Boosh, his brother Mike Fielding and Tim Meeten.
Throughout the performance we were introduced to some of Fielding’s best loved characters including, The Moon, (and his evil twin the dark side of the moon), Sargeant Raymond Boombox, and Joey Ramone, as well as crime-fighting duo Fantasy Man and Big Chief Whoolabum Boomalackaway.
Here’s a few of the things we learnt from the show
*** SPOILER warning for those of you who are planning to catch the rest of the tour ***
1. Croydon’s hecklers are nothing if not persistent
Right from the word go Fielding was greeted with some lairy, mostly inaudible shouting from the audience which he lapped up and turned into several jokes about his time as a Croydon chav.
Ever the professional, and clearly enjoying being back in front of a live audience, Fielding looked as at ease doing stand-up as he does on TV.
And later, whilst making a tour of the audience with a video camera hooked up onto the projector onstage, Fielding decided to track down the plucky heckler for a chat.
2. Mike Fielding is even tinier on stage
Sporting a blonde wig, mini dress and trainers Noel’s younger brother received a warm welcome from the audience as he bounded on to the stage throughout the show.
In classic Boosh surrealism the younger Fielding plays Noel’s wife who, naturally, has been cheating on him with a triangle.
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3. Fielding’s fantasy land can unite the people of Croydon
In order to enter the fantasy land we were told to hold hands, close our eyes and lift our arms high into the air as one lucky audience member named Steve was transformed into the knight of Croydon in his bid to save Fielding from a plasticine world.
Who knew that all it took to get an entire audience gleefully holding hands was fantasy man – a middle class knight who rides a cardboard unicorn wearing a plastic cup on his chin.
4. There’s always room for a quick crimp
The die-hard Boosh fans are in for a treat when both Fielding brothers and Tim Meeten get their crimp on.
And Luxury Comedy enthusiasts will be happy too with a performance from New York’s finest cop, sergeant Raymond Boombox.
5. Joey Ramone comes to life – and he is terrifying
Putting on his best Scottish accent Fielding brought plasticine figure Joey Ramone to life before deciding to help him venture out into the real world.
But when the long-legged rocker made it out his plasticine world it wasn’t a pretty sight.
The suspect physically assaulted Fielding, shoving him to the ground with his disproportionately long arms, before fleeing back to safety.
The An Evening with Noel Fielding tour continues its UK leg until the end of this year, before going over to America in March.
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