Shappi Khorsandi is a brave woman…stepping backwards to demonstrate the vastness of the proscenium arch stage of Liverpool’s beautifully restored cosy Epstein Theatre she immediately broke the fourth wall by leaning out and guessing people’s names. You got the impression she really wants to make friends, ‘I’ve been on my own all day with only Twitter to talk to’ and she’s in need of a drink; well she’s come to the right place! On her first visit to Liverpool a few weeks into her 38-date UK tour, she cuts the figure of a small, vulnerable woman in a mini dress trying to connect with her unknown mostly middle-aged audience and they loved her. (One even brought her a drink on stage) She appeared slightly thrown by the Liverpool audience demographic as her first ‘mark’ was a lawyer who had come from the gym but she quickly settled in. Her comedy material is conversational rather than confrontational and she often referred to the setting as a comedy club despite the blinding stage lights leaving her talking into the darkness. On reflection it might have been better with the house lights up.
The theatre was built in 1913 at the height of the suffragettes’ militant campaign, the same year suffragette Emily Davison died after throwing herself in front of King George V’s horse at the Epsom Derby. Khorsandi was no less passionate, just as ground-breaking and only slightly more restrained. You get the feeling she has overcome a lot in her life as she grew on stage, earning her 'warrior stripes' as she tackled issues such as being labelled BAME (Black And Minority Ethnic), single parenthood and climbing the male-dominated comedy circuit ladder. I’m loath to give her any label but she is a feminist without shouting about it. She just gets on with it. As such she appeals to men, women and non-binary alike, and cleverly engaged her whole audience with her self-deprecating humour. Her comedy skill is in her seemingly ‘off the cuff’ writing, often ‘forgetting’ where she was up to and addressing a sudden thought that popped into her head as she played the slightly ditzy ‘brown woman’. Wisely ditching Brexit, she lifted the lid on many taboo subjects: Terrorism, scripted TV comedy shows, BBC One Question Time (It was worth going to hear her personal Jeremy Corbyn story), biased book prize lists, 'I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!’, all from personal experience. Khorsandi’s worked small comedy clubs and high-profile TV and is a published author but you feel she’s only getting started. Never sure if she’s winging it, she made her performance a personal experience for her audience. She could easily have done another hour. Khorsandi is funny and fearless. It’s high time she had her own TV show.
Reviewer - Barbara Sherlock
on - 28/3/19
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