Rob Kemp's The Elvis Dead is a witty, enjoyable and different approach to comedy.
Applying the surprising mix of Elvis songs and the cult classic The Evil Dead 2, one might be forgiven for not expecting to find themselves laughing. However, Rob's sharp use of lyrics, alongside his colourful, audience-involved performance (and very impressive Elvis impersonation), finds the Elvis Dead to be a fresh and incredibly enjoyable experience.
The performance starts modest, a brief introduction by Rob helps set the audience expectations for the show, while also allowing him to showcase some of his more traditional stand up abilities.
This is followed by a monumental re-entrance into the Elvis Dead, in which Rob then comes back into character as Ashley Williams from The Evil Dead (TED) and well, Elvis. An Ashley-Elvis hybrid, I think.
From here on out the show descends into a full scale re-enactment of famous Evil Dead scenes, humorously decorated with Elvis songs and dancing. As you can imagine, the lyrics are adapted to make it Evil Dead orientated.
The show is vibrant, energetic and involves varied levels of audience participation to add to the fun. Rob can be seen to fight his own hand, wield a chainsaw, and wrestle with a possessed decapitated head (no, really, he does).
There are clips from The Evil Dead in the background of the performance, which aids the viewer in understanding just what is happening. This serves both those who haven't seen the film before, and those that have.
Whilst the show will most likely please die hard fans of TED the most, the outrageous concept will still remain enjoyable for most fans of comedy looking for something new.
Rob manages to inject so much energy and talent into the performance, that anyone with an open-mind and appreciation for comedic performance would admire.
