Theatre

Will Howells’s Grammar School

John Underwood | Thursday 2 August, 2012 09:14

“I should probably tell you a little about myself… it’s the first person singular reflexive personal pronoun.” Prepositional crusader Will Howells knows his way around the dictionary, and over the course of his Grammar School he’ll make sure you don’t forget it. A blend of puns and one-liners, some genuinely excellent and others deliberately awful, undercut a really rather insightful show about language, pedantry and why it’s terribly difficult not to think about penises on Countdown. BBC writer Howells cuts a schoolmasterly figure, keeping the class in order despite the familiar stifling heat of the Etcetera theatre (Sir, can we have our lessons on the field today?) and gamely adapting his routine on the fly – reorganising a Spelling Bee in five seconds flat after finding out that one of his volunteers (self) was actually reviewing the show deserves two merits and a letter home in anyone’s book.

Grammar mavericks will be comforted to know that he also does an excellent whale impression. Will Howells’s Grammar School (the s’s is deliberate) won’t be in Edinburgh this year, so don’t miss the funniest chance you’ll have all summer to finally get* your head around subject clauses. If you do, you’ll be letting the whole class down.
*split infinitive, because SNIPE doesn’t play by your rules

Will Howells’s Grammar School last show is tonight at Etcetera Theatre.

Will Howells’s Grammar School listing
Camden Fringe website

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