Alternative comedy pioneer coaxed out of retirement

The Iceman is surely the act most widely cited to illustrated the weird and wonderful state of the fertile post-punk alternative cabaret circuit which birthed the modern stand-up scene.

A stalwart at the likes of Malcolm Hardee's Tunnel Club in the 1980s, Anthony Irvine’s act involved trying to melt large blocks of ice by ridiculous means, while pontificating to the audience, cracking puns and maybe singing.

Now 74 and following the release of a book to cement his place in culture history, the performer/artist/comedian was coaxed out of retirement for one last appearance, filmed for the indie label Go Faster Stripe and released today.

It is not a recreation of the act, Irvine insists, but a serious academic lecture about what he used to do – though the presence of a chunk of frozen water atop an elaborate Heath Robinson-looking contraption rather gives the lie to that. That and the fact he tries to melt it while pontificating to the audience and cracking puns.

The futility of his endeavour stands out in the modern comedy landscape where almost every show has a clearly defined structure. ‘The whole concept of The Iceman is failure,’ Irvine tells us – and it’s a notion that he proves from the start – when he pours a bucket of water over himself and damages the microphone.

A lesser comedian might have cut all the futzing around that resulted, but leaving some of this in captures the joy of amateurism, in its true sense, that his act celebrates. Trying to sum up what his charmingly ramshackle performance achieved, Irving concludes: ‘Something has happened that wouldn't otherwise have happened’. What more reason does one need?

Whenever Irving says something profound – or that could be conceived to be profound – the audience at London’s Bill Murray comedy pub  are instructed to audibly concur: ‘Deep, deep,’ which they willingly do. Such reactions are central to the dialogue between the act, which Irving likes to describe as ‘relational’ rather than situational art.

Irving engenders and embraces a shambolic atmosphere in a performance that ends as chaotically as it started. Overrunning his slot, The Iceman must go-eth, having covered only a fraction of the ground he’d hoped to.

To be highfalutin, the Iceman has roots in the Fluxus experimental art movement of the Sixties, where the process is more important than the result. Here, Irving’s ‘let’s just give this a try’ ethos results in a shared sense of meaningless fun, that should, by rights, only exist in the moment – though we should be grateful, too, that it has finally been recorded for the ages.

Footage of the performance will also be part of the documentary Melt It! The Film Of The Iceman, due out next year and featuring interviews with Stewart Lee, Jo Brand, Neil Mullarkey, Ronni Ancona, Simon Munnery, Mark Thomas and Robin Ince. It’s being made by Anthony Irvine  and Robert Wringham, who were also behind the book about his legacy.

But for now the performance available as a standalone download on Go Faster Stripe's website for £10.

Review date: 28 Mar 2025
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett