4 at the Store

I’ll be honest: I approached *4 at the Store* skeptical that an 11-hour live comedy marathon could hold my attention. But within minutes, I was hooked—not by every joke (some bits *haven’t* aged well), but by the *raw alchemy* of these performances. Ross Noble’s stream-of-consciousness riffs feel like jazz improvisation, while Sean Lock’s delivery turns even throwaway lines into razor-sharp observations. The standout? Noel Fielding’s early set, where his absurdist persona isn’t yet polished into *Mighty Boosh* perfection—you hear the gears turning as he commits to increasingly bizarre tangents, the audience unsure whether to laugh or call for help. That said, this isn’t a curated “best of.” Some sets drag (looking at you, mid-2000s political rants), and the sound quality varies—Edinburgh Fringe recordings can feel like you’re listening through a tin can. But those flaws are part of the charm. The lack of studio polish means you get Omid Djalili’s physical comedy *described* in real time (“I’m doing a thing with my hands—no, wait, my *feet*—”), which somehow works. The pacing is uneven, but that’s live comedy: one minute you’re bored, the next you’re rewinding because Lee Mack just dismantled a heckler with surgical precision. My only real critique? At 11+ hours, it’s a commitment. Dip in and out—this is a buffet, not a tasting menu. And yes, some jokes will make you cringe (early noughties humor hasn’t aged kindly in places). But when it hits? It’s like finding a lost mixtape from your funniest, most chaotic friend.