Daniel Kitson (x2)
I wrote about seeing his new full length show Keep earlier in the year (which I thoroughly enjoyed) but I also managed to snag tickets to see him doing some work in progress stuff over the summer at the Bill Murray comedy pub in Islington. It shows what a master of the craft he is (as he will ironically-ish tell you himself) that even Kitson just working off a few rough notes and riffing off the audience is still a great show.
David Baddiel - Trolls: Not The Dolls (Work In Progress)
I was a huge Mary Whitehouse Experience fan back in the day (in the late 80s / early 90s when comedy first started filling stadiums - which was Newman And Baddiel - and was touted as the new rock and roll) but have never seen David Baddiel live before so was delighted when the Brother got tickets for my birthday for this one. Even as a work in progress, it was a funny show, focussing on how social media works as well as Baddiel’s inability to leave things alone on Twittter. I’d like to go again and see the “finished”* show to see how it compares.
Harry Hill
I think it’s fair to say that I was properly obsessed with Harry Hill in the days of his initial Channel 4 show (and also with TV Burp). I’d seen him do a brief set live before at The Chuckle Club (formerly a club at the London School Of Economics many years back) but this is the first time I’d seen a full length show. Absolutely loved it, he was on excellent form and it was also in the weirdest place I’ve been to see comedy - underneath the hull of The Cutty Sark in Greenwich. Very odd.
Stewart Lee - Snowflake / Tornado
Much like Kitson, Stewart Lee is renowned for his craft and, while I can see it might be to everyone’s taste, I’m a big fan of his stand up. This was a double bill of two hour long shows and he was on excellent form (if maybe seeming a little more relaxed than in previous shows). Like Kitson, it shows that Lee does nothing but gig and hone his craft as he was able to turn the limited audience interactions not quite going his way into comedy gold.
Spencer Jones - The Things We Leave Behind
Here’s a new favourite. The Brother introduced me to Jones through his short series on the BBC iPlayer, The Mind Of Herbert Clunderdunk which is a silly, surreal, song-and-prop-based comedy series. I was a little concerned about how those short shows would translate into something an hour long but needn’t have worried as the show was an absolute delight. I highly recommend checking him out if you like comedy daft. The gig was also lifted up by the fact that, as the audience left, he stood outside and shook everyone’s hand while thanking them for coming. Class act!
*I realise that all stand up shows are constantly being worked on but you get what I mean.
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