Texan-Mexican Ralph Barbosa is hailed as ‘one of the shyest attention hogs to ever do comedy’, and there is something ingenuously awkward about his 50-minute set at Soho Theatre. When he mimes having shy sex for his audience, the result is unexpectedly endearing and this just about sums up Barbosa’s approach to comedy. He’s a Southern gentleman with manners.
In his UK debut, Barbosa starts the evening with jokes about the lack of air-conditioning in London, though, fortunately, Soho Theatre’s downstairs space is cool. And then there are jokes about how no one carries guns in Britain: “How are you meant to carry out your school shooting?” he quips. This is the closest he gets to the bone.
Most of his routine is comprised of gentle observations of cultural differences: Italian bravado when a man tries to hit on his girlfriend, Japanese politeness when it comes to accepting business cards. He delivers it all in a charming, self-effacing manner, but it still feels like he’s testing European audiences, discovering how far he can push their limits in the future.
There’s no narrative running through his set; this is old-school stand-up with seemingly random discussions about being a dad, having a girlfriend, doing donuts in a parking lot back in Dallas and then being caught by the police. Towards the end, there is some chat with certain members of the audience, but again, this is gentle. There is no roasting here.
At only 5’7”, Barbosa is still a commanding if humble presence on the stage, and he has enough charisma to engage the audience, which on this night included a handful of Americans and a few people from Latin America. The fact that the theatre was not full of born-and-bred Londoners seems to take Barbosa by surprise, as it’s Britain he mainly wants to talk about.
With a Netflix special behind him and a YouTube Channel, Formula Bean, devoted to cars, it’s certain that we will hear more of Barbosa in the UK in the future. But for a man who likes racing cars, it still feels like he’s in the slow lane.
Runs until 11 July 2026
