If there’s one thing that Pierre Novellie has going for him, it’s consistency. Not once during the full hour of his latest show does he falter or interrupt his own gentle rhythm. Combine this with some clever structure, affable stage presence and well-honed comic timing, and there’s almost every ingredient needed for the perfect standup. The only thing missing is that it could do with being a good bit funnier.
Novellie himself is quick to point this out, commenting on the difficulties of being a straightforward observational comedian in a world where it’s increasingly difficult to observe humour in our troubling day-to-day. Still, he finds some interesting angles, leaning into both what he sees as the crumbling infrastructure of the UK and the desperate odysseys one must go through with customer service just to eventually make contact with a human. It’s relatable, it’s told well, but it’s also only mildly amusing as things rarely build toward strong laughs or thoughtful points.
But Novellie clearly has more exciting stuff within him when he wants to. One particular flight of fancy involves a battle of nerves between Novellie and a hotel staff member desperate to clean his room, a siege of squalor drawn out for the sake of an apparent discount at the bar that gets increasingly imaginative and gross before it all culminates in a fairly bizarre Oliver Twist parody – genuinely creative and hilarious comedy that the show could use more of, rather than the mild amusement most of the rest offers.
There are some fairly good laughs to be had here, and hardly anyone is likely to be disappointed by an evening with Novellie, but it’ll leave you wanting a little more. How things wrap up is evidence of this; Novellie benefits from a charitable act by an unknown individual and draws some optimism about the UK and the wider world from it. Lovely, but like much of the show, it’s wholesome without being particularly funny. Ideally, neither should come at the expense of the other.
Runs until 31 January 2026
