Review: DARREN WALSH: 3RD ROCK FROM THE PUN, Pleasance London

“Everything in this show has been created with AI”

Well, that might not be exactly true. There is a lot of AI, but Darren Walsh: 3rd Rock From the Pun utilises Artificial Intelligence, but the majority of the jokes are created by Walsh himself.

The “plot” of 3rd Rock From the Pun is that it will tell the history of the universe using puns, so as someone interested in history with a weakness for punny jokes, I was looking forward to seeing what Walsh would come up with. 

Walsh is definitely talented when it comes to puns and seems to have an endless supply of them, as proven by his AI-generated database of over 5,000 jokes. Throughout the show, Walsh is telling the story of the history of the universe, using puns to make the audience laugh and groan as he gets “really geeky.” Unfortunately, the show moves away from its geeky premise multiple times throughout the show, becoming more of a standup show without the narrative established at the beginning and instead becoming a reflection on AI with some recurring jokes. 

Walsh certainly uses AI to his advantage, with one recurring joke being conversations with AI versions of celebrities like Neil Armstrong and Mick Jagger, typically leading to puns based on their names and/or occupations. There are also AI pun-based images, with highlights including Aubergine Wilder, Camila Parkour Bowls, IKEA Starmer at a Cabinet Meeting and Lionel Rishi (my personal favourite is “Gull”ileo”). Another recurring AI joke is one making puns on the name of ChatGPT including “Chat PG Tea” and “Chat BeeGee T.” 

One of the highlights of the show was when Walsh improvised puns based on random topics while waiting for the AI to generate songs about audience members. Even though they were unrelated to the topics of AI and the history of the world, they were fun and it was a delight to be able to see Walsh come up with the puns on the spot. 

There were some awkward bits in the show, including an attempt at a non-binary joke which was followed by comments by Walsh about being politically correct. A later part that involved Walsh holding a microphone up to audience members with prerecorded answers being played, including some with some questionable accents. These moments really had no purpose in the show and pulled away from the light entertainment of puns that had been keeping the show going. Quite a few of the puns ended up being way too niche, including those based on London like one about the “Red C” and another on “Low Emission Zones.” 

Ultimately, Darren Walsh: 3rd Rock From the Pun is a funny show, but it struggles with having a solid narrative, jumping between using AI in comedy and explaining the history of the world. The use of AI is certainly interesting, but I would have preferred it to be a separate show from one about space, possibly one more themed to technology. 

Darren Walsh: 3rd Rock From the Pun ran on 13 November at Pleasance London.

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