BY SIMONE MEDONOS
[star rating = 5/5]
“Drink Less and Drink Better” we are reminded throughout the night by our award winning hosts, Ben McFarland and Tom Sandham. A time travelling journey from Ancient Greece to Wild West saloons and Victorian gin palaces with a five drink compendium of tasting notes, historical facts, hilarious costume changes and skits peppered with the more serious message of saving our boozers and escaping social media by getting out to speak to real people.
Unsure what to expect as we sit in the cramped medical school lecture theatre and watch a coffin carried out to funeral music, the promise of five free drinks keeps us at the edge of our seats. Our two smartly dressed hosts open the coffin to reveal the first tipple and we are then carried through a fantastical journey; from the first pub in Ancient Greece with a Lagunitas IPA (the drinks don’t always match the establishment) to a vodka, gin, whiskey, and ending on a rum in a speakeasy.
The hosts perform quick costume changes from sharp suits to bright lycra underpants, getting themselves oiled up, wrestling, playing cricket… this is a fast flowing drinking extravaganza.
The closing song weakens the otherwise strong performance, or perhaps it was just that we didn’t want the night to end; nevertheless, it’s a timely reminder to save the pub by saving ourselves. If the hosts had danced around the stage in their fluorescent underpants a little longer, it may have been a more fitting ending to an otherwise hilarious night.
The perfect mix of knowledge, humour and alcohol promises to be high on the list of your favourite shows this year. A Must See.
