All Stars Of Comedy - The Lowry Theatre, Salford.

All-stars of comedy rolled back into the Lowry theatre after their hugely successful international comedy clash and was quoted to be “Back with an almighty bang”. The 2018 UK tour had replaced two comedians from their original billing of Jerry Lyre and Guz Khan but A.Dot and Slim were continuing the tour to Manchester. The replacements were to be sandwiched between the two original funny guys whilst at The Lowry Theatre.

The first thing that struck me whilst waiting for the auditorium to open was that the majority of the audience was black, Asian and Afro-Caribbean making myself most definitely the minority.

Armed with plenty of alcoholic drinks from the bar the audience sat down for the show to begin, giving the sense of a comedy club atmosphere as opposed to the etiquette of fine theatre that the Lowry is famous for.

Our host for the evening was Aurie Styla who opened the evening by warming up the audience with his anecdotal stories of genetics, diets, gyms and lyrics of songs. Styla clearly was very comfortable interacting with the audience and keeping them in line when the usual heckling came his way.

First up was A.Dot from Nigeria, and with his African humour told tales of how he interacted with society and women in different and difficult situations. His stories in my opinion where a little flat and lacked the belly laughing moments we all expect of comedy, especially his delivery regarding crime and immigration did have you slightly cringing in your seats especially when he played a game of ‘spot the immigrant’.

Second up before the interval was Will E Robo with his stand-up routine and strong American accent had the audience in his hands, it’s clear this comedian knows his stuff and can deliver his punchlines perfectly aided by his movement and sound affects creating the comical image in your mind. Robo was extremely risque and close to the knuckle with his anecdotes of racism, parentage, sex, sexual encounters, women and weight but did apologise if he had offended anyone and reminded us that it was in his own words  “95% entertainment and it was what we all were thinking but haven’t got the guts to say” – a very funny man, and one I would definitely watch again. 

After a short break, the second backfill was Kevin J, a self-confessed white African comedian from Tottenham in London. Kevin relayed stories about his upbringing and how he had to adapt as the only white boy from Broadwater Farm council estate with tales and events of his multicultural neighbourhood. I found his jokes very London-orientated and with strong reference to parts of London that I personally didn’t understand. His delivery was rather flat for a Manchester audience and felt it would be more suited for Southern venues.

Last but not least was Slim; a comedian who really did have you belly laughing with his Cockney humour that was well adapted for Mancunian audience, with his hilarious tales and antics of being a bus driver, parentage, daughters and sons and dogs versus cats. He mixed his Jamaican and London jokes to perfection leaving the audience in hysterics with his razor sharp material and smooth delivery which closed the show perfectly for the evening.

Overall a good evening that was very much orientated for a multicultural audience with its predominant Jamaican and Nigerian humour.          

Verdict: it’s not a show for the fainthearted or those who are easily offended but a great evening to escape and have a chuckle.   

Reviewer - Katie Leicester
on - 29/6/18