Comedy / Ed Night
Review: Simon Amstell, Colston Hall
Simon Amstell has come a long way from his days presenting Popworld on Saturday mornings. It’s been far from an easy journey and his latest show What Is This? is another chance for Amstell to delve into his most awkward introspection mode.
Before he takes to the stage, though, young Ed Night has the chance to try out his material to a packed Colston Hall. At just 21, his youthful vulnerability is endearing (he says he’s just pleased to get out of his house share. That’ll be the house share with his mum and dad).
Ed Night
His routines are sharp and he’s the perfect millennial comedian. When a routine starts, “I was outside Wetherspoons in Croydon…” you know you’re getting something authentic. Night does occasionally struggle to seamlessly link his material together but it’s a pleasing set from a rising comic.
is needed now More than ever
Now it’s time for Amstell, who’s every bit as cerebral and hand-wringingly honest as we’ve come to expect. His gift is that as he lures you in with his awkwardness or his foibles, and you let your guard down. Then he hits you with one right between the eyes. One moment you’re laughing about his family stories – then: “it’s easier to think of your family as characters because it’s less painful”. Ouch.
There is an irony to a personality that finds it hard to be honest with his long-term boyfriend but has no problem spelling out intimate details and thoughts to 2,000 strangers. It’s equally hard to square Amstell’s insistence that we all come to realise we’re not special (“because you know, death”) with over an hour of material where he engages with nothing but himself.
Simon Amstell. Pic: Carol Rosegg
Funny and clever though he is, I yearn for him to engage with something else. A talent as mercurial as his deserves to have longevity – but I wonder how that can be achieved if he sticks so rigidly to his self-examination style.
Despite some reservations, Amstell just about finds the line between funny and awkward. The odd stray laugh from tonight’s audience is met with an intake of breath and Amstell saying “I know this is odd for a comedy show but sometimes, it’s OK to be quiet”.
Still though, Amstell’s honesty is what keeps his audience onside and it’s worth spending an hour in his company because, you know, death.
Simon Amstell performed What Is This? at Colston Hall on Friday, November 10.
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