I think it’s fair the say all the drama surrounding the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union has made the country a bit of a laughing stock across the globe. So there should be plenty of material for a comedy show about it. With a title of ‘Never Mind the Backstop - The European Farewell Tour’, it’s fair to say I was expecting a night of comedy all about Brexit. However, that wasn’t necessarily the case.
MC for the evening was Maltese born Steve Hili. He began his set on his childhood in Malta before he moved to Swindon. His tales of his lazy eye, Maltese drinking culture and circumcision had the audience in stitches. In general he was a good compere for the evening, however I felt he could have read the audience better when it came to interacting with them. For example, a couple of girls arrived late and like any comedian would he tried to roast them for it. However, the girls clearly were not interested in being part of the joke. I think he should have left it there instead of prolonging it.
The first comedian for the evening was Radu Isac from Romania. His set mainly comprised of the differences between his life in the UK and his native Romania. He joked that even though Eastern Europe is comprised of many countries and languages, somehow they all sound Russian when they speak English. I don’t know if Isac was nervous, however he kept leaning against the wall, putting his hands in his pockets and swinging the mic around, all which distracted a bit from his set.
Next on stage was Alice Frick who’s from Austria. Highlights of her set included how unsexy the German language is. The translation for the word ‘sex’ is ‘gender traffic’ in German, and nipples are called ‘breast warts’. She delivered a really lively set and was very well received by the audience.
After the interval it was Arielle Souma from France’s turn to take to the stage. Her routine was mainly focused around sex. Some of her gags caught you so off guard that you couldn’t help but laugh out loud. She has a very strong stage presence, I feel some of the men in the audience were cowering in fear of her though!
The final act of the evening was Italy’s Luca Cupani. He joked about how Brexit is a bit like an Italian job - incompetent and corrupt. He also told us how he saw a natural disaster in Japan as a sign from God telling him not to go to Japan. Although he did deliver a good set I feel like it wasn’t the strongest of the evening. Given that it was around 10pm by this time and audience were starting to get tired I feel we needed a more lively performer to round off the evening. For me Souma would have been a better choice to close the show.
I’m still a bit on the fence about whether I feel the title of the show was a bit of a cop-out. I was initially expecting a show about Brexit, however it was really a night for European comedians. I think it would have been nice to address Brexit a bit more, but on the other hand it was also good the evening was filled without it.
Some of the comedians joked about how they may have to leave the UK after Brexit. However, one thing that this comedy night showed is that we have far more in common with our European friends than that which divides us.
Reviewer - Brian Madden
on - 27/3/19
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