It’s an impressive resumé: Daily Show correspondent and recipient of Emmy Awards, and GLAAD awards – but thankfully it seems, American stand-up Dulcé Sloan lives up to the hype.
On a limited London run at Soho Theatre, the Atlanta-born comic is unfazed by a British audience, politely introducing herself (to the Black audience members only) and jumping straight on to the differences between Black Brits and Black Americans. Despite an unusually warm and sunny day in London, Sloan is still confused as to why Black people are still living here: ‘You knew it was cold?’.
She’s sharp and responsive and very willing to stray off her path. After a quip about the children’s hands that made her bra – and therefore support her boobs – she grabs her phone and opens the voice note app to record what she had just said, getting the audience to help her workshop: ‘That was good. Maybe it’ll make it into the special’. It confirms the energy of spontaneity that creates an effortless connection between Sloan and her captivated audience.
Her forte – something she’s written about in her book Hello Friends – is the trials and tribulations of dating in her 40s: ‘Do you know how much jazz I have to listen to?’. Given the audience’s reactions, it seems Sloan is preaching to the choir when she evangelises about her new deference to ‘the church of no more broke dick’, but she also laments how broke men are good in bed because they have to be for survival. Sloan shifts into a delightful run of comparisons of men and their animal counterparts, encouraging men to have the same mating efforts as, say, a peacock’s plumage and dance when it comes to courting women.
Living with her mum and brother while attempting to have a sex life in her 40s is another big source of laughs, particularly when navigating the unique dynamic of a housemate who happens to be your mother.
The final product isn’t fully polished – there’s no wider narrative and only tenuous connecting themes between Sloan’s jokes as she flits between anecdotal and observational humour. But it almost doesn’t matter; Sloan’s whole persona is captivating and entirely entertaining, it just works. Even basic jokes about how British people add the ‘s’ to ‘math’ are funnier coming out of her mouth. She’s not afraid to be outrageous, is utterly in control, and maintains an ease that puts the audience at ease too.
A powerhouse comic, able to achieve a lot in a short time.
Runs until 22 March 2025
The Reviews Hub Score
A powerhouse of a comic
