BREVIEW: Simon Amstell – What Is This? @ Town Hall 15.10.17

Simon Amstell - What Is This? @ Town Hall 15.10.17Words by Helen Knott 

Simon Amstell is in a good place, “I’ve been in a relationship now for six years”.

It’s almost a confession, coming from the king of angst-ridden, comedy-as-therapy; anyone who has seen his stand-up before will know depression and loneliness have been a major theme over the years. What happens now he’s happy?

In What Is This? Amstell maps his path to contentment. It’s a touching and funny journey, and coming to terms with being gay is a major factor.

From losing his virginity on a naïve trip to Paris, to the family crisis when he gets a boyfriend, before finally finding some kind of acceptance through attending a recent family Bat Mitzvah with his boyfriend. As he summarises: “It took me a long time to become comfortable with the idea of being loved.”

This isn’t the Simon Amstell who used to strike fear into the hearts of Never Mind the Buzzcocks guests. Even his errant father, so often the target of his anger, is forgiven – his misdemeanors dismissed as the consequences of emotional incompetence rather than malice. In fact, it’s often Amstell himself who is set up as the object of ridicule. Offering pseudo-therapy to help friends, attempting a single-handed and ill-advised feminist intervention at a Native American retreat in Norfolk; he is full of “wise” words, all learnt from his therapist.

This self-awareness of his capacity for self-aggrandising behavior stops a show that occasionally verges on being preachy, from turning into a full-blown lecture. Amstell explains that his new book, Help, features a transcript of the show (“I don’t even know who for. People who don’t like hearing stand-up out loud..?”) and at times tonight Amstell’s stand up routine feel like he’s reciting passages from a book, especially with his low-key style of delivery. But it makes for a tight, carefully scripted performance. Every word is precise. Crucially, it’s consistently very funny.

The final third of the show explores some of the challenges of being in a long-term relationship, raising questions around fidelity and morality. Stories of drug use and orgies could seem off-puttingly hedonistic, but, when told with Amstell’s ever-present, wide-eyed innocence, are actually rather charming. Like much of the audience, I’ve grown up with Simon Amstell and I’m rooting for him. And as he says to preemptively defend himself: “Where else will you hear something like that?”

What Is This? is a mature, confident show, with Simon Amstell seemingly more comfortable in his own skin than ever before. It’s still recognisably Amstell, just more mellow and more compassionate. Happiness suits him. 

For more on Simon Amstell, visit www.simonamstell.com 

For more form the Birmingham Comedy Festival 2017, including a full programme of events and online ticket sales, visit www.bhamcomfest.co.uk

For more from both the Town and Symphony Halls, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.thsh.co.uk

BREVIEW: Maisie Adam – Living on the Edge @ The Glee Club 14.10.17

Maisie Adam - Living on the Edge @ The Glee Club 14.10.17

Words by Helen Knott

Maisie Adam has only been a stand-up comedian for a year, but she has made more progress in those twelve months than many comedians manage in a much longer career. Her stand-out achievement so far was winning the So You Think You’re Funny competition at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe; SYTYF is the UK’s most prestigious competition for new comedians, with past winners including David O’Doherty, Dylan Moran and Peter Kay.

Living on the Edge, then, is Adam’s first ever show. She explains that she only graduated from drama school last year and decided that she’s not ready to “adult” yet (I try to ignore my dislike of the modern use of the word ‘adult’ as a verb). The resulting show is a series of anecdotes from Adam’s fairly fledgling life experience so far – she’s only 23.

Some of these anecdotes are funnier than others. Her story about falling out of a second story window in an attempt to impress a one-night-stand is excellent, but her segment about the British abroad felt a little obvious and clichéd. Still, she keeps the energy up well, she’s likeable, and her patter with the audience is natural and funny.

And it was a tough crowd. Adam described it at the end as, “one of the weirdest gigs I’ve done”. It turns out that fifteen very sober people in The Glee Club at 5.30pm on a Saturday doesn’t make for the most energetic comedy audience. No doubt Adam will have much weirder gigs during her career, but tonight was quite a tricky situation. She largely managed it with confidence, though some punchlines felt a little thrown away in her speedy delivery.

Ultimately, the show would have benefited from a stronger overarching narrative and structure. Adam’s big theme was her claim to be dysfunctional, but that didn’t ring quite true. She just won one of the biggest comedy awards in the country and it seems like things are going pretty well to be honest. Plus most people are a bit awkward as children and have embarrassing romantic encounters; it’s normal stuff.

Living on the Edge is a solid first show, but to be in the same league as those past SYTYF winners Adam needs to work out her USP as a comedian. She can’t spend her whole career telling anecdotes about school teachers, her gap year, or the weird classes she took at drama school.

But Maisie Adam will continue to learn her trade, and her quick wit and charm will always make her great company – she could just do with some stronger material. Maybe some time “adulting” is in order after all.

For more on Maisie Adam, visit www.maisieadam.wixsite.com/comedy

For more from The Glee Club, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.glee.co.uk

For more on the Birmingham Comedy Festival 2017, visit www.bhamcomfest.co.uk

BPREVIEW: Simon Amstell – What is This? @ Town Hall 15.10.17

Simon Amstell – What is This? @ Town Hall 14.10.17Words by Helen Knott

Simon Amstell performs his show What is This? at the Town Hall on Sunday 15 October, as part of the Birmingham Comedy Festival 2017. For direct info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

Despite starting stand up aged thirteen, Simon Amstell is perhaps best known for his presenting roles – interviewing musicians and pop stars on Nickleoden, Popworld and Never Mind the Buzzcocks, where his challenging curiosity and acerbic wit would lead to both a growing fanbase and twitching in the control room.

Indeed, eight years after Amstell left his presenting role on Never Mind the Buzzcocks, his tenure on the BBC 2 quiz show still makes for solid You Tube fodder – from questioning why Jermaine Jackson “looks nothing like Michael” to exasperating Preston from the Ordinary Boys to such an extent that he walked off set and got replaced by a member of the audience.

Buzzcocks had been a natural next step for a presenter who first came to public consciousness on the Channel 4 show Popworld, a show Simon Amstell co-presented with Miquita Oliver. Likewise, watching Popworld clips on YouTube today you can’t believe the ridiculous things Amstell and the equally wonderful Oliver would ask bland pop stars to try and get them to say something entertaining. To Britney Spears, thrown in the middle of a fairly innocuous interview, Amstell asked “Whose chin would you like?” to which Spears replied, without hesitation, “Halle Berry’s. I think she’s beautiful.”

Simon Amstell doesn’t interview pop stars any more. In fact, the last time he was on our TV screens for any length of time was in his beguiling BBC sitcom Grandma’s House back in 2012, which he co-wrote with Dan Swimmer. Since then, Amstell has been concentrating on more personally focused projects – including a mockumentary about veganism called Carnage, and a ‘hilarious and heartbreaking’ book about Amstell’s ‘ongoing compulsion to reveal his entire self on stage’ titled Help.

Simon Amstell has also performed on stage repeatedly as a comedian, with What is This? being his fifth UK comedy tour. And whilst his output across art forms is dependably solid, stand-up arguably distills the Amstell experience into its purest form.

What is This? reportedly explores Amstell’s romantic stability, his new found contentment, his relationship with his father, and possibly ayahuasca – in a show that ‘promises to be a deeply personal, funny exploration of beauty, intimacy, freedom, sex and love.’

It’s comedy as therapy – confessional, neurotic, with no subject too personal to be off limits. And crucially, it’s all bitingly funny. Unless you’re Preston from the Ordinary Boys.

Simon Amstell performs What is This? at the Town Hall in Birmingham on Sunday 15th October. For direct info, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.thsh.co.uk/event/simon-amstell-what-is-this 

For more on Simon Amstell, visit www.simonamstell.com

For more form the Birmingham Comedy Festival 2017, including a full programme of events and online ticket sales, visit www.bhamcomfest.co.uk

For more from both the Town and Symphony Halls, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.thsh.co.uk

BPREVIEW: Maisie Adam – Living on the Edge @ The Glee Club 14.10.17

Maisie Adam - Living on the Edge @ The Glee Club 14.10.17

Words by Helen Knott 

Comedian Maisie Adam performs her show Living on the Edge at The Glee Club on Saturday 14 October, as part of the Birmingham Comedy Festival. For direct info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

Adam has been a stand-up comedian for less than a year, performing her first show in October 2016 shortly after graduating from university. While she may not have spent years plying her trade on the toilet circuit, she has very quickly started to create a stir in the comedy world. Sometimes, if you’re good, you’re good.

This all culminated with arguably the biggest night of Maisie Adam’s career to date. At the start of August, at the Edinburgh Fringe, she won So You Think You’re Funny,Maisie Adam - Living on the Edge @ The Glee Club 14.10.17 the UK’s most famous competition for young comedians. Past winners include David O’Doherty, Dylan Moran and Peter Kay, so SYTYF certainly isn’t a bad barometer of talent.

Adam has been described as a more eccentric version of Peter Kay and likened to Victoria Wood. Based on this, it’s fair to assume that her show will be observational, good-natured, and well, northern. Entitled Living on the Edge it’s a portrayal of life on the edge of adulthood, featuring stories about the politics of the playground and the British abroad.

With an award win, festival performances and comparisons to comedy greats under her belt, Maisie Adam has a lot to live up to. And whilst she may not be the finished article, yet, this could well be a first look at someone who will be popping up all over TV and radio in the years ahead.

So You Think You’re Funny? (2017 Grand Final) – Maisie Adam

For more on Maisie Adam, visit www.maisieadam.wixsite.com/comedy

For more from The Glee Club, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.glee.co.uk

For more from the Birmingham Comedy Festival 2017, visit www.bhamcomfest.co.uk

BREVIEW: Cult Figure: Kenneth Williams @ The Old Joint Stock Theatre 26.09.17

Cult Figure: Kenneth Williams @ The Old Joint Stock Theatre 26.09.17

Words by  Helen Knott

What does it mean to be a cult figure? Is it simply someone who is popular with a loyal, but limited, group of people, or does it have connotations of an almost unhealthy devotion?

Cult Figure: Kenneth Williams feels like the work of a fan, someone with a real reverence for Kenneth Williams. Painstakingly pieced together from diary entries, personal letters and radio performances, writer and performer Colin Elmer successfully captures the spirit of Williams’ singular persona. The piece is funny, fast-paced and enjoyable. This is particularly true in a first half that focuses on Williams’ early life as a child living above his father’s hairdressers and his stint in the forces during World War II.

The stories about Williams’ war years provided real insights into the life of a soldier and the work of the Combined Forces Entertainment, the group that travelled around, providing entertainment for the troops. Indeed, Williams lived through a fascinating era of history, and I would have enjoyed more exploration of the context that he was living and working in. Issues such as the illegality of homosexuality for much of Williams’ life undoubtedly impacted him and his work, but were barely touched upon.

Elmer instead focused on performing numerous extracts from Williams’ radio career, using skits from Hancock’s Half Hour, Round the Horne and Just a Minute to trace his evolution from a bit part actor, to an innovative comedian, to a TV and radio personality. This generally worked well and allowed Elmer’s real strength – that is, his well-observed impersonation of Williams – to take centre stage. Elmer’s voice, subtle mannerisms and easy charm resulted in a number audience members commenting in the interval: “I think it’s really him!”

Cult Figure: Kenneth Williams @ The Old Joint Stock Theatre 26.09.17The second half of the show was largely structured in a chat show format, with Elmer feeding audience members pre-prepared questions. This felt a little forced; just a device to allow Elmer to cover some big moments in Williams’ life, including celebrity-themed anecdotes and oddly, the Carry On films (which were rather rushed over, considering that they’re probably Williams’ best known work).

It didn’t help that Elmer was occasionally tripping over his very detailed, very precise script. This section may have worked better if it actually gave The Old Joint Stock audience the opportunity to ask their own questions. They were clearly a knowledgeable bunch and it would have freshened things up to see Elmer thinking on his feet.

Ultimately, the show felt rather one-dimensional. There was no sense of the darkness that haunted Williams, eventually leading him to die from an overdose. Williams’ mother, who he had a close relationship with throughout his life (she even lived next door), was strangely absent. Big and complex questions about Williams’ private life and professional legacy were untouched.

Cult Figure: Kenneth Williams clearly didn’t have ambitions above providing a nostalgic and fun reproduction of the best bits of Williams’ career for the comedian’s devoted following. It certainly succeeded in this: the production comes from a place of great affection and is beautifully performed, but it’s not going to win the cult figure Kenneth Williams any new fans.

For more on Cult Figure: Kenneth Williams, visit www.oldjointstock.co.uk/whats-on/cult-figure

For more from Old Joint Stock Theatre, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.oldjointstock.co.uk