Words: Elodie Marriott

4 stars

Pierre Novellie may be the best dressed man in comedy. In a light blue suit with a contrasting pocket square, he begins with a speech about Melanesian Cargo Cults. Imagine David Attenborough at a wedding.

With his authoritative voice and formal ensemble, you may wonder whether you’ve accidently wandered into a university lecture that for some reason is being held in an underground performance space. But no, Novellie swiftly moves on to the more personal anecdotes that Must We? is chiefly concerned with.

After being diagnosed with autism in 2022, Novellie finally had a name for his outwardly bizarre food habits, “it has to be loads,” and his unique productivity hacks inspired by experiments on monkeys. The show is a hilarious deep dive into his idiosyncrasies and his pursuit to escape the drudgery of life. He coins unforgettable monikers like “shame troll” and “murder nurse Deliveroo” which were undoubtedly adopted into the audience’s vocabulary immediately upon hearing them.

Must We? is immensely entertaining and asks all the important questions like: “When did we all decide to go to Lisbon?” For one hour we see the world through Novellie’s eyes and wish the vision lasted a little longer. Though every time we open a Haribo Starmix, we’ll think of him, “a heart, for courage”.

Pierre Novellie: Must We?
Monkey Barrel Comedy – Monkey Barrel 3,
Times vary
Aug 13-25