Japanese Grandma Funeral is exactly that: but crushed with a game show ran by a clown. Led by Kento Morita, who missed his grandmother’s funeral in Japan due to Covid restrictions and is now attempting to recreate the traditional rites with us.

Probably the most important thing about this show is the absolute roaring heart of warmth at the centre of it. This is genuinely a dedicated, earnest memorial to a grandmother Morita clearly loved and, remarkably, he brings the audience on board to love her too.

There are two boards with numbers from one to 108, each revealing a memory accompanied by a little set piece about Morita’s grandmother, grandfather and life in Japan. This is really excellent storytelling, and the show is incredibly well produced. It’s always entertaining, but more importantly, it genuinely shares the heart of the performer with us.

The two sides mirror life and the afterlife — the afterlife being a mirror image of this life in Japanese culture. We learn, for example, that this is why a kimono is folded the opposite way when someone passes from life into the afterlife. These details are woven throughout the silliness, and we find ourselves learning about Japanese and Okinawan funeral customs while being silly and joyful and a tad sentimental.

Morita himself is warm, funny and playful creating an environment where everyone feels included. At no point does any of the comedy denigrate his grandmother’s memory. In fact, there is almost a sort of reverence to the whole thing. At one point he kisses an audience member, which is wild, but somehow even that exists comfortably within the strange, affectionate world he has created.

Some of the 108 words repeat, leading to entirely different bits based on the same word. Morita acknowledges this, but there’s a missed opportunity to make the repetition of the words a running joke.( He could definitely play on fringe audiences ridiculous expectations)

There is also material about his grandfather’s dementia, adding another layer beneath the clowning.

Slowly, memory by memory, Morita builds a picture of his grandmother, his grandfather and his family until a room full of strangers feels as though we have actually got to know them.

Morita has undoubtedly pulled the memory of his grandmother though storytelling giving the joy of the audience with his clowning . Yet Japanese Grandma Funeral is actually better than a lot of clown shows we get to know and like him.

Ultimately, Japanese Grandma Funeral is warm, funny and very silly, but its greatest achievement is its sincerity. He manages to make a room of strangers remember a woman we never knew.

It’s family-friendly, culturally fascinating warm and fun and absolutely the type of show to see if you need a spiritual shot in the arm.

***1/2

Reviewed by Stephen “Sharpie” Sharp

Zoo Playground

Until 30 August (not 10 or 17)

17.45 (1 hour)