The Return Of Two In One.

Last night I went and saw another two shows in an evening. First stop was Leicester Square Theatre for Sammy J and the Forest of Dreams and then onto Soho Theatre to see Reggie Watts.

Sammy J and his smutty puppet friends had me crying with laughter, albeit I laughed harder at the fuck-ups than anything else. I think it's definately one of those shows that I could see over and over and still enjoy. I woke up this morning with 'In the Forest of Dreams' in my head which made me want to sway in time.

Words can't describe what Reggie Watts does; an incredible talent who's in a league of his own. Breaking down jokes and delivering somewhat weak punch lines in theory wouldn't work, but it did for Reggie Watts. The Time Out Sydney review puts it quite eloquently:

"I'm staring at a blank page, wondering what to write, and in a funny way it makes me wish I were Reggie Watts. He would love a blank page, or a silent room, or an unsuspecting innocent mind. He would appraise it the way a vegetable carver eyes a radish - as an opportunity. An opportunity to fill an empty space with endless random oddness.

That is really the best way to describe what Reggie Watts does. He escapes categorisation; his show comprises offbeat comedy, social satire, physical theatre, beat boxing and song, though not enough to actually be any of those things. He appears on stage with a keyboard, a couple of microphones and a loop machine, and proceeds to amuse and confuse in equal measure.

Mostly he just talks. And talks and talks. And then talks some more. And the talking isn't about anything and doesn't really make sense. And it might pass through a number of different accents and octaves. But then again, it might not. And in between the talking he plays songs, which will generally have a bit more narrative than the talking, but not necessarily. There was a heartfelt rambling ballad about the funny side of seduction and a hip hop parody that had the whole audience chanting "shit fuck stack". But sometimes he was just making sounds, which was the most impressive of all. Watts is a vocal maestro with a ten-octave range who can create any sonance audible to the human ear somewhere in his oesophagus.

In fact, I wonder why he makes weird semi-comedy instead of just creating awesome music? I suspect he enjoys messing with our heads too much. And I will gamely admit that it is fun to have your head messed with, and that's really the best reason to experience the show. Seeing Reggie Watts is a bit like sexual or chemical experimentation - you're not entirely sure what just happened, but you think you liked it and you'd probably do it again."

A thought:

I don't have the time or patience to talk to people who don't agree with me. If you agree with me however, I have all the time in the world.

Miss Spektor.

I'm a little bit in love with the lyrics in Regina Spektor's 'On the Radio', especially this bit:

"This is how it works
You're young until you're not
You love until you don't
You try until you can't
You laugh until you cry
You cry until you laugh
And everyone must breath
Until their dying breath

No, this is how it works
You peer inside yourself
And take the things you like
And try to love the things you took
And then you take that love you made
And stick into some
Someone else's heart
Pumping someone else's blood
Amd walking arm in arm
You hope it don't get harmed
But even if it does
You'll just do it all again"

A thought.

I'm going to miss my best friend so much.

Two In One.

Last night I caught the first half of Ali McGregor's Late-Nite Variety Nite before ducking off to Sarah Millican's Edinburgh Preview.

Ali and Martin White were wonderful as always and were joined by Jamie Kilstein and Kulki the Hula Girl. The first half also featured an Iranian comic who I didn't like very much, she told a story about being held hostage by the teliban but it didn't lead anywhere.

I enjoyed Jamie Kilstein's set; kudos for the way he dealt with a low-life heckler who was sitting front and centre. Mr Kilstein had seen a friend and I arrive and due to the fact that we'd seen him quite a bit recently, he'd written some new jokes. How lovely is that!

Sarah Millican's new show is shaping up to be just as good as her last. I love her naughty but nice humour and the way in which she involves the audience. I'm looking forward to seeing the final cut in Edinburgh.

A thought.

When I say i'm staying out of it, I really should do exactly that.

Luck Of The Irish.

I've just spent the weekend away in Dublin with a lovely group of friends. I had booked the trip mainly to go to the Carlsberg Comedy Festival but also fitted in a spot of sight-seeing.

There was a moment of panic at Stansted on the Saturday morning when we were faced with absolute caos at the check-in desk. If it wasn't for the kindness of strangers Karena and I would have missed our flight.

We arrived late morning and went and had lunch at a church that had been converted to a pub (soup with Irish soda bread!) before touring around Dublin by bus. We were driven past numerous landmarks while a nice old man told us stories about the charming city.

The evening was filled with comedy and featured the likes of Bo Burnham and Tim Minchin. It was the first time that I had seen Bo and I loved his set so much, his material is way beyond his years. Turns out many others enjoyed his set too and he got rave reviews.

Tim Minchin's set was interesting. The audience were quite drunk and liked to heckle which was a bit unfortunate. He sang 3 songs (Prejudice, If I Didn't Have You and Confessions) and did lots of ad lib. My favourite joke was when he opened a young girls purse and pulled out ten euros (long story); a lady called Theresa objected because she thought it was mean. In defense Tim said something along the lines of "it's not mean. If it was a foetus I wouldn't have said anything". Brilliant.

On Sunday we had brunch at a charming cafe in the centre of town, from there we headed back to the Iveagh Gardens for more comedy from Des Bishop and Tim Minchin.

A great set by Mr Minchin, he playing 4 songs (the same as the night before plus 10 Foot Cock And A Few Hundred Virgins). His stand-up was tried and tested material and he let his songs speak for themselves. His performance of Confessions was the best I have seen/heard it. He walked right the way off stage before the 3rd chorus and gagged when he sang about his Great-aunt and lipstick; hilarious!

Des Bishop appeared to be the man everyone was there to see. I enjoyed most of his stand-up, but he did a lot of material that only the locals found funny (which wasn't all bad as he was nice to look at). He dealt with a rude heckler so well, by well I mean he ripped them to shreds.

I arrived home around midnight tired but with lots of lovely new memories.

A thought.

My level of tiredness had reached a new high that all I want to do is cry.

Mr Kilstein.

Last Thursday I went to The Riverside Studios to see Jamie Kilstein's last preview before he headed up to Edinburgh for The Fringe.

The crowd was small and the surroundings intimate and I really, really enjoyed it. His stand-up is thought provoking and intelligent and at the same not confronting. A really great show and i'm sure it's going to go down well at the festival.

A thought.

I really need to think before I speak.

Old Rope.

Yesterday was a bad day. Really bad. Unbelievably bad. Thank goodness for Old Rope, the brilliant line-up and laughs a plenty made all my worries a distant memory.

Some of the people on the bill included Shappi Khorsandi, Lee Mack and Dave Gorman. But it was the headliner, Andrew Maxwell, who I was there to see and he didn't dissapoint. That man is a comedy genius! One of the young guys sitting by me was laughing so much he was hunched over in pain.

A Thought.

Trying not to cry while standing at a rainy bus stop is near impossible.

Setting: A rainy London bus stop; 7am.
Text to Mum: There are some days that I just need my Mummy, yesterday was one of those days. x
Text from Mum: Some days I need my Mone. There are a lot of those days! LOVE YOU TOO xxxx

My Lovely Lucy.

Today I went to Surbiton to visit my friend Lucy and her kitten Lola. I hadn't seen her since the begining of the year and it was so nice to catch up. Lucy gives the best cuddles.

I had a long chat with my Mum this morning. She talked mostly about the plans for her wedding (which have suddenly gone from a small intimate gathering into a full-fledged ceremony with all the bells and whistles). I'm going to send a letter which will be read out at the Registry Office.

A thought.

I was the only person on the upper deck of the bus while making my way to Lucy's house. I was thinking non-stop until we reached Victoria and then the thinking suddenly ceased. I thought it had got very quiet, but the quietness was only caused by lack of thoughts.