Woolwich Works has been home to a variety of shows since it opened in 2021, from music, dance, theatre and art. One focus is their Live At The Works comedy evenings, with a feature of popular headliners such as Milton Jones, Phil Wang and Alan Davies. This time, it is Simon Amstell in the spotlight, joined by four other fabulous comedians for a night of fun, laughter and awkward audience interactions.
Hosting the evening is Thanyia Moore, best known for her appearances on Mock The Week. Her bubbly, likeable personality immediately gets the audience warmed up, as she grills various tables about their jobs, lives and relationship statuses, awkwardly putting them in the hotseat for maximum audience enjoyment.
Leo Reich is first up, immediately addressing his privilege by joking about his father sponsoring his set from his small, little known business – Deutsche Bank. His comments on dating, sex and his queer identity are interspersed with short original songs, one hilariously focusing on how he lost his virginity under a vow of secrecy. Shy he isn’t, funny he definitely is.
After the first interval, Kemah Bob from Texas, exudes love for notable UK culture – aka sausage rolls and scotch eggs. With the holiday season coming up a lot of the set revolves around family tales, notably ones around the dinner table featuring misogynistic uncles and racist grandmothers. Kemah’s deadpan delivery matches the sarcastic humour to a tee.
Rising star Daniel Foxx, a self-proclaimed Draco Malfoy lookalike, spends his time in yummy mummy cafes in North London, writing children’s books – the not so wholesome but brilliantly funny Bedtime Stories for Privileged Children. While he probably won’t be on the shelves at Waterstones anytime soon, he’ll definitely always have a place on a comedy stage, with his scathing rants on Disney villains and anecdotes about his LGBTQ+ friendly grandma.
Headliner of the evening is Simon Amstell who seemingly hasn’t aged in the past 20 years, still has the same brand of sarcastically observational humour that people know and love him for. His set makes fun of his stint in New York, where his bleached blonde hair surprisingly didn’t raise a red flag for help. Quick on his feet with brilliant cadence, he openly discusses his love for psychedelic drugs and how an ayahuasca ceremony in Peru was an interesting experience that got him into a bit of a hole. A deserved headliner, he closes the show with expertise.
These five great comedians, in the fabulous Woolwich Works venue make for a very entertaining evening, leaving an excited curiosity on who is going to be headlining at the next one.
Reviewed on 10 December 2022
The Reviews Hub Score
Superb Stand-Up Show
