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COMEDY
www.guestlist.net
FESTIVAL www
ANDI OSHO
It is not often that you find an accomplished female stand-up comedian on the London scene (or any scene for that matter). It’s even rarer to find a successful female stand-up who is black. Andi Osho is there to prove it can be done. Now, some of you might think it politically dubious that the first thing that I have to say about her is that she is black and female. I am not here to make a big, grand political statement. I simply think that Osho would want me to mention it. She is, after all, very self-reflective in her work. Simply put, if fat people can make jokes about being fat, why can’t black people make jokes about being black... And from Newham?
Osho is fast becoming a crowd favourite with major gigs like the Edinburgh festival under her belt. I first saw Osho on Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow a few years ago and she was definitely the stand- out act; her set was short but sweet and even included some spoof Emceeing! She success- fully satirized the perception of
COMEDY LISTINGS
10th - 13th August Lawrence Leung @Soho Theatre, 19:45, £15.00 (incl. booking fee)
15th August Camden Fringe Presents: Evin Donohoe: International Homewrecker @The Camden Head, 20:00, £6.00-£7.50
10th August - 3rd August Doug Stanhope @Leicester Square Theatre, 19:30, £27.50 (incl. booking fee)
13th August 2011 Jack Whitehall: Let’s Not Speak of This Again @ Hen and Chickens Theatre, 19:00, £7.00
18 August 2011 Potted Potter @Garrick Theatre, 11:30;13:00;16:00, £10.00- £20.00
19th August Ryan McDonnell Presents: Rhodri Rhys, Inder Manocha & others, @Soho Comedy Club, 19:30, £10.00
20th August Foster’s Comedy Live: Owen O’Neill, Smug Roberts, Lucy Porter, Jason Kavan, Ola @Camden Comdey Club, 20:30, £17.00- £18.00
26th August Bright Club: Camden Museums special with Bec Hill and more @ Bloomsbury Theatre, 19:30, £5.00
27th August Banana Caberet @The Bedford, 19:30, £10.00-£14.00
5th - 11th September Greenwich Comedy Festival: Sean Locke, Phil Jupitus, Stewart Francis and more @Old Royal Naval College, 18:00; 14:00 on Sat & Sun, £18.50-£24.00
9th September Scipmylo Comedy Festival: Stephen K Amos, Andy Zaltzman @ Shoreditch Town Hall, 21:30, £16.50-£17.50
Is it ‘cos I is from Newham?! She’s female, she’s black and she’s funny
black people whilst simul- taneously showing through her own character that these stereotypes are not completely accurate.
Osho bases a lot of her mate- rial around being Nigerian and from Newham. There are, of course, lots of comedians that draw on their ethnic origins, like the equally brilliant Russell Peters, so it’s not an entirely new trick. However, Osho’s execution is every bit as bril- liant as those guys so it still seems fresh and her material is also more easily related to in some ways.
All the comedians seem to be up in Edinburgh this month for the Fringe Fes- tival, so catch Osho’s ‘All the Single Ladies’ show at Cabaret Bar in Pleasance (although if you haven’t already heard of Newham, you might want to look it up).
Issue 30 / August 201
Issue 29 / July 2011
STEWART LEE
It’s rare on the British comedic circuit to find performers with the ability to intellectually humour their audience whilst maintaining a dead-pan persona. There have been many comedians over the years who have tried and failed to wield sarcasm and cynicism to achieve thought-provoking comedy. Their failures are due to an inability to ground sarcasm properly. They can’t seem to deconstruct the ordinary everyday absurdities that surround us without seeming insincere. It’s no easy feat to use tools like sar- casm and irony without appearing to preach an agenda.
British comedian is a breath of fresh air.
One comedian that has always been an exception in this case is Stewart Lee. Lee is particu- larly refreshing in the way he ap- proaches observational humour. He can cover standard comic staples, like religion, nationalism, the media and politics without resorting to cliché references and preaching his point of view. The most impressive thing about
Lee is that his comedy is clearly driven by a brilliant intellect. He won’t be back playing in London until November, but if you can’t wait catch him at The Stand in Edinburgh throughout August.
CAMDEN FRINGE FESTIVAL
The Camden Fringe Festival is London’s answer to Edinburgh’s biggest comedy festival and this August they are going to give the Scots a run for their money.
Bloomsbury Theatre, Camden parks and Lauderdale House are just some of the venues home to Camden Fringe, which is already in its sixth year. Coming from humble beginnings, Zena Barrie and Michelle Flower were perform- ers from the Edinburgh Fringe who started up Etcetera Theatre, which is still one of
the venues where the cultural festival is held. It features various arts from theatre to opera which saves you trawling around London and paying a fortune to watch all of this. There’s a major presence of comedy and stand-up. With titles like ‘Dolphin Wrestling, Errors of Comedy’ and ‘Year of Being A Squirrel’ it’s hard to resist taking yourself down there. The benefits become as countless as the list of performers when you consider it’s only down the road and tickets will only set you back £5.
Camden Fringe is on
throughout August. To find out more check out
www.camdenfringe.com
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