Reclaim These Streets comedy fundraiser at 21Soho review - an exhilarating night of giddy joy

Joanne McNally’s set was a highlight of the night

(handout)

They say timing is everything in comedy and the timing of Covid could not have been more brutal for thrusting new venue 21Soho. In March 2020 it got its full licence on a Monday and got locked down on Friday. There have been a few false dawns in the last 14 months but last night’s punchline-packed opening night bodes well for a bright future.

An all-female bill played the well-organised socially distanced fundraiser under the #reclaimthesestreets hashtag. From the get-go it was as if comedy had never been away. There were a few quips about dodgy Zoom gigs in pyjamas, but most of the acts gave pandemic patter a bodyswerve.

Skilful compere Sarah Keyworth established the celebratory tone from start. The award-winning stand-up went through a break-up during lockdown so the last year must have been particularly rocky. Performing again was the perfect panacea and she was clearly ecstatic to be back onstage, or as she modestly put it, “a little bit giddy”.

Sarah Keyworth was a skilful compere

Highlight of the night was terrifyingly funny, wild-eyed Irish comic Joanne McNally, who made a splash on ITV1’s The Jonathan Ross Show last month and lived up to expectations with a set largely about being broody. She wondered if it would be possible to drink her beloved Prosecco during pregnancy. “Babies love a bubble,” she concluded, before trying to hijack a hubby in the audience.

During a lengthy show various themes emerged. UK-based Americans Kemah Bob and Janine Harouni both noted unexpected aspects of British culture. The blue-afro’d Bob was bemused by the stallions in the Lloyds Bank adverts, while Harouni was discombobulated by everyone at a party sitting down when The Gap Band’s Oops Upside Your Head started playing.

Kemah Bob was bemused by the Lloyds Bank stallions

Alison Spittle delivered winning oddball routines about Zumba and mental health, Heidi Regan offered lo-fi self-deprecation. There was something for all tastes and plenty left over too. If you think all female comedians are the same you clearly haven’t been paying attention.

Diversity was the main motif though. From assured trans woman Jen Ives’ smutty take on pandemic dating etiquette to Olga Koch’s punchy account of auditioning for an action movie, there were as many different approaches to comedy as there were performers.

There was another underlying theme of course. The collective joy of generating laughter again was palpable. The joy of being in an audience was pretty exhilarating too.

21Soho, 21-soho.com

Read More

Comedy comeback! Where to see live stand-up in London

Bernie Dieter and Zoe Lyons top bill at all-new Underbelly festival

‘What if I’ve forgotten what words are?’: Comics on stand-up’s return