Justin Moorhouse: Destiny Calling, Greenfield & Andover
For all the excitement that avant garde performers who push back the boundaries of stand-up generate for comedy obsessives, the fact remains that what most audiences want to see is something uncomplicatedly funny that chimes with their own everyday experiences. Justin Moorhouse may not be a self-consciously arty performer, but the amount of first-rate comic craft that goes into his deceptively simple routines is worthy of admiration. He comes across onstage as an overworked and overtired northern dad, forever dealing with the downsides of his joint role as husband and father. You get the feeling he’s drawing heavily on real autobiographical details; his sets have a ring of truth that comes from genuine lived experience, rather than being a collection of prefabricated tales created for the purpose of sounding funny. Fans of Peter Kay will recognise him from his role as softly spoken (and ultimately permanently face-painted) Young Kenny in Phoenix Nights, and his unpretentious, gag-heavy style should make him a great fit with Kay’s many fans.
Royal George, Greenfield, nr Oldham, Thu; The Lights, Andover, Fri
Mae Martin: Us, London
Mae Martin may be a Canadian woman, but those are about the only two things she has in common with her stand-up compatriot Katherine Ryan. While Ryan’s been making a massive impact with her unfiltered tales of debauchery and depravity, Martin’s been making her own waves with a more low-key approach. Part of the extremely hip circle of comics associated with north London venue The Invisible Dot Ltd, she gained the best notices of her career so far for this show, first performed during August at the Edinburgh fringe. Us sees Martin moving on from the oddball jokes that were a fixture of her early stuff to tackle bigger and more important themes. Here, she uses details of her upbringing and awkward social life as a springboard for making firm statements about gay rights and the importance of shaping your own identity.
The Wheatsheaf, W1, Sat; The Invisible Dot Ltd, N1, Mon to Fri, to 1 Oct
Chris Ramsey: All Growed Up, On tour
It’s a cliche that all comics are tragic clowns: that behind their smiles lurk lives of utter misery. If that’s true of Chris Ramsey, he’s doing a good job of hiding it, because when he’s onstage he looks like he’s having the time of his life. It’s as if for him becoming a successful comedian is like winning the lottery. That’s not to suggest that he’s got where he is by luck; he’s got an unforced charisma and a warm observational style that proves irresistible to audiences. Essentially, he comes across as an ordinary lad eternally baffled by the world around him. He’s confounded by the simplest things in a way that encourages us to question them too, like Michael McIntyre if he ditched the shiny suits for a T-shirt and jeans.
