EDINBURGH 2014 - BWW Reviews: JOHN LLOYD'S MUSEUM OF CURIOSITY LIVE, Underbelly, August 17 2014

Before Museum of Curiosity starts, there are QI facts displayed on the screen behind the stage. Did you know that there are more statues of lions in the world than actual lions? Then John Lloyd steps onto the stage with the co-producer of the Museum of Curiosity Dan Schreiber to introduce the show.

Featuring different celebrity guests from around the festival this is kind of a live version of a podcast where people talk about things they find interesting which they think belong in the museum. The guests for today's performance were comedians Al Murray and Susan Calman plus neuroscientist Sophie Scott.

The set-up is informal and the guests are introduced before each taking a turn to discuss their item. First up is Susan Calman who thinks that fan fiction belongs in the Museum of Curiosity. Delving further into the discussion, she explains that she finds it fascinating that people aren't quite happy with what they've already been given by a writer or artist and feel the need to expand on that themselves.

Moving on to the next guests they present their own items. While the items themselves aren't funny, the conversation surrounding them really is. What I really liked about the format of this show is that no two performances will be the same. The guest lineup for the rest of the festival is excellent so I imagine every show will be as enjoyable as this one.

To round things off John Lloyd ends with another fact. I'm sure everyone will sleep soundly with the knowledge that 95% of the spiders that you find in your house have never been outside..

John Lloyd's Museum Of Curiosity Live runs at Underbelly until August 24th.

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