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Simon Cowell declared Australians Macshane & Delby “the fastest free style rap” he’d ever seen when they reached the finals of Britain’s Got Talent 2026.
These two white guys rapping are now wrapping up a British season that included the Edinburgh Festival followed by a few days in London and Essex before heading home to Perth.
For an hour that flies by, they sharpen their wits and those of the audience and dispel any worries we might have had about cultural appropriation and toxic masculinity by somehow avoiding the obvious risk of saying something deeply offensive in the heat of the moment.
Their most dangerous declaration was that Trump is controlled by Netanyahu and, before a London audience, that was probably safe.
In an era when AI spews out thousands of words a second, they also manage to affirm a very human love of words by seizing on whatever the audience proposes and rapidly and rhythmically following where it leads.
At the Top Secret Comedy Club in London, they were blessed with the chance to improvise on the words “histology” and “situationship” and with a long-legged, willing volunteer who hurdled her way through the audience onto the stage.
Apparently, she was very sporty at school and she also broke the existing record in Barticulate, Macshane and Delby’s version of Articulate – obviously with rapped clues.
Aside from the highly active audience interaction, Macshane and Delby are foils to each other. Macshane is the smug married, sussed half of the duo and Delby is single and, by his own admission, prone to panic. Between them, they have very broad and positive appeal.
Macshane & Delby: 2 White Guys Rapping
Top Secret Comedy Club,
London.
Simon Cowell declared Australians Macshane & Delby “the fastest free style rap” he’d ever seen when they reached the finals of Britain’s Got Talent 2026.
These two white guys rapping are now wrapping up a British season that included the Edinburgh Festival followed by a few days in London and Essex before heading home to Perth.
For an hour that flies by, they sharpen their wits and those of the audience and dispel any worries we might have had about cultural appropriation and toxic masculinity by somehow avoiding the obvious risk of saying something deeply offensive in the heat of the moment.
Their most dangerous declaration was that Trump is controlled by Netanyahu and, before a London audience, that was probably safe.
In an era when AI spews out thousands of words a second, they also manage to affirm a very human love of words by seizing on whatever the audience proposes and rapidly and rhythmically following where it leads.
At the Top Secret Comedy Club in London, they were blessed with the chance to improvise on the words “histology” and “situationship” and with a long-legged, willing volunteer who hurdled her way through the audience onto the stage.
Apparently, she was very sporty at school and she also broke the existing record in Barticulate, Macshane and Delby’s version of Articulate – obviously with rapped clues.
Aside from the highly active audience interaction, Macshane and Delby are foils to each other. Macshane is the smug married, sussed half of the duo and Delby is single and, by his own admission, prone to panic. Between them, they have very broad and positive appeal.
Barbara Lewis © 2026.
By Barbara Lewis • added recently on London Grip, comedy, performance, theatre • Tags: Barbara Lewis, comedy, performance, theatre