Bridget Christie, On tour
Bridget Christie is probably much too modest to claim to be the godmother of a comedy movement, but she is. While she’s far from the first to put feminist politics at the core of her stand-up (it’s a tradition that stretches back to the dawn of alternative comedy in this country), it’s her sheer success that has arguably given performers such as Sara Pascoe and Grainne Maguire the confidence to talk assertively about gender politics on stage. Christie’s 2013 show, A Bic For Her, netted her the Edinburgh comedy award, one of a dozen gongs she’s received for her gag-packed polemical shtick. What Christie does so well is to reveal the ridiculousness of misogyny by tying it to everyday phenomena (like the for-women pen that gave her breakthrough show its title). She’s able to point at something sexist and expose it for the drivel that it is, and in so doing, generate intoxicatingly mocking laughter. This week, she tours her latest show, A Book For Her, as well as performing a warm-up for her upcoming DVD in London.
Soho Theatre: Upstairs, W1, Sat; Everyman Theatre, Liverpool, Mon; mac, Birmingham, Tue; touring to 15 May
John Robins: Speakeasy, On tour
For the last few years, John Robins has ploughed his own furrow, creating a string of shows that offer a soft, contemplative take on modern masculinity. That’s not to say he’s a delicate flower; as regular listeners to his Radio X shows with Elis James can attest, he enjoys sinking pints and making mischief as much as anyone. But in his solo stand-up work, Robins reveals himself to be more of a romantic, someone endlessly searching for fulfilment while remaining riven with self-doubt. He has previously anatomised the break-up of relationships and spoken movingly about the girls that got away. Speakeasy finds him warmly ensconced in an idyllic relationship with the woman of his dreams but plagued with many of the same old insecurities, especially when he discovers that his girlfriend has access to his internet history.
The Old Town Hall Arts Centre, Hemel Hempstead, Sat; The Stand, Glasgow, Tue; West End Centre, Aldershot, Wed; The Glee Club, Birmingham, Fri; touring to 11 Apr
Will Franken: Who Keeps Making All These People?, Glasgow
Anyone seeking to come up with a thesis about transgender issues in stand-up would find a deeply intriguing case study in US-born, UK-based performer Will Franken. Having gigged for a couple of decades as a man, last year Franken changed his name to Sarah and started identifying as a woman both on and off stage. And then, seemingly just as abruptly, he stopped. Franken has said he reverted back to his previous gender out of a weariness at becoming both a target of abuse and a poster child for transgenderism, as well as feeling that the attention was stunting him creatively. But assuming different guises has always been, and remains, a big part of Franken’s comedy offering. The comic’s sets (whether as Sarah or Will) see him adopt a frenetic array of voices and characters, all to assist some freewheeling, and sometimes apparently free-associative, rants against the way the world is organised.
Blackfriars, Sat
