Brian Butterfield; The Call Of Now Tour review by Ryan Beardsley
Looking for a lawyer, a 5 star (asterisk) hotel, or simply want to know what the time is? Then you’ve come to the right place because entrepreneur extraordinaire Brian Butterfield is taking residence at the Hammersmith Apollo for a new seminar titled The Call of Now.
Butterfield is of course the alter ego of comic, impressionist and voice actor Peter Serafinowicz, the breakout character from his criminally underseen 2007 sketch show, and it’s a testament to the man’s cult status that the Apollo is sold out some twenty years after his television debut.
Sprinting to the stage with such ferocity it induces a double heart attack, Brian Butterfield is taking no prisoners tonight and his motto of ‘there’s no business like business’ permeates through tonight’s symposium, leaving future Bransons and Sugars with all the tools they need to achieve professional immortality.
Highlights of the show include a testy interaction with his own AI model Bri AI as his omniscient software tends to work a little too well, a recreation of the perfect interview, with help from some 15 or so audience members and a brand new concept where members of the public pitch their business ideas for an opportunity of investment – Brian’s Den.
Serafinowicz is a true showman from beginning to end, he must be absolutely knackered running around in that fat suit but he never wavers and the show is as much physical comedy as his trademark irreverence. It’s in these moments that get the biggest laughs, specifically videos detailing his online banking security measures and new streaming service; Buttflix.
He also knows when to give the fans what they want and rewards the loyal followers with a recreation of his most treasured sketch to end the evening, a return to the Butterfield Karaoke Bar! An overweight white man in his sixties dressed in a charcoal suit belting gangster rap will always be funny.
So what next for Serafinowicz? Everything he has ever produced in the world of comedy; Look Around You, his eponymous sketch show, impressions on Youtube – see Anthony Hopkins, have been lapped up and now a successful live show. Someone needs to give him another tv series surely, come on Netflix, or even Buttflix, give the people what they want!
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