one4review | On 12, Aug 2024

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this. Monopoly is such a marmite game- people either love it or hate it. I envisaged a life sized board game however when I saw the Box venue, I knew this was unlikely.

Benjamin Albourgh is the games master and aims to play a completely different style of monopoly where the rules are decided by the audience. This show has the potential to become riotous depending on the crowd. Initially, people are directed to seats however this did not appear to mean anything.

Audience participation is key to this act working. Unfortunately, the crowd I was part of took some time to wake up. Benjamins energy and enthusiasm does warm up the crowd but you could see he was struggling to get people motivated.

Benjamin delivers very funny material and loose references to the actual monopoly board game. He gets two volunteers involved with random audience members acting as monopoly places. Some of the tasks the volunteers, and Benjamin, undertook were pretty funny!

Interactive can put a lot of people off seeing something however there is no pressure to do anything in this show. People can opt to do as much or just be an observer. The audience are made to feel comfortable and are encouraged to be part of the show.

I enjoyed this show, however I think the right audience have to be present to make it work. Benjamin is a funny guy who controls the room and is not afraid to get involved himself. He would make a great game show host. I would see this show again to compare with a different audience. It has potential to be a really great interactive show!

***
Reviewed by Tracey
Assembly George Square – the Box
15.45 (1hr)
Until 25th Aug (not 12, 13, 19 or 20)