Review: MIGHTY, VAULT Festival

With a loop pedal and tonnes of personality, Jack AG Britton addresses a strikingly under-explored subject: heightism. From Tinder profiles deliberately demanding that men only above a certain height swipe right to blatant online hatred directed towards short guys, Mighty brings light and humour to an issue that severely impacts lots of men's mental health.

In his melodious one-man show, Britton beatboxes and raps, mixes sound, and shows accurate research on the cost of all the jokes about shorter men. He opens up and playfulness conceals the details of a traumatic childhood due to his stature. At a time when insecurity and body image issues relating to men are still brushed away in a sweep of toxic masculinity, Britton comes forward with an honest and bare delivery.

A loose script grants him the chance to build a strong relationship with his audience and, as he attempts to analyse the reasons why males are so obsessed with avoiding being perceived as small, he embarks on an impressive and heartbreaking exhibit of height-related data. Mighty might be infused with comedy from start to finish, but Britton makes it clear that the topic isn't a laughing matter.

He puts his crowd on the spot from the moment they walk in, requesting them to fill in the first row with a funny looped recording while he is vibing on the sound machine. Online abuse and other seemingly harmful and acceptable forms of prejudice all get the Britton treatment and are put in front of the public to be considered in all their dangerous implications. He is smart, eloquent, and unequivocally entertaining in his denunciation.

Mighty runs at VAULT Festival until 9 February.

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