I went to see Komedia’s monthly gay-friendly stand-up comedy show Bent Double on the 5th November. The show runs every first Sunday of the month and consists of 3 acts and an MC. I was excited to see the show as it was my second time seeing Bent Double; the last time I went was last year and I left very impressed with the standard of performers. And I was equally impressed this time round.
We got to sit in the lovely room downstairs in Komedia which has a lovely cabaret style with a bar. The show opened with Zoe Lyons, who is probably one of the best hosts I’ve ever watched. Lyons has a very natural performance style and she is gifted in the way she throws out one-liners and engages the audience. I always feel as if I could listen to her talk and tell jokes about anything for hours. Lyons made funny remarks about how she was missing blue planet and fireworks to host the show. Her audience interaction was also extremely entertaining, although it left me very nervous that I would be picked on.
Before introducing each act Lyons would return to the stage to warm-up the audience again. She referred a lot to the current political climate and joked about Theresa May’s puzzling ‘British dream’ and questioned “what the fuck is that?”. She also mentioned that hosting the show is cheaper than therapy for her, so she can use it to get clarification that she is right and everyone feels the same way. She was very entertaining and warmed up the audience well.
The first act was Sarah Keyworth; ironically, the girlfriend of Catherine Bohart who I had seen the first time I attended Bent Double. Keyworth is very likeable on stage and brings a fresh young energy to the show. Keyworth made jokes about how she is struggling to find material because her life is too good and discussed her experiences of being gay and of being a babysitter. I enjoyed Keyworth’s performance as it was very natural and relatable too. I’ve been meaning to see her do stand-up for a while so I’m glad I got the opportunity to do so.
The second act was Yuriko Kotani, who was very adorable to watch as she made fun out of her own trouble with understanding English. One of my favourite lines was at the end when she explained how someone saw in the street and said hello to her in Chinese, even though she is Japanese. But she commented jokingly how nice she thought it was that someone had actually spoken to her in the street. Kotani ended her act with “konichiwa motherf***er!”.
Then finally the headliner, Paul Sinha, entered the stage. Sinha’s act was quite different from Keyworth’s and Kotani as it had a more sombre tone. He talked about his painful break-up and the difficult times that came with that, although incorporating a humorous tone. But then at the end of his performance he showed that there is light at the end of the tunnel. He also joked about being on TV gameshow The Chase and the ‘fame’ he had to handle as a result of it. His act was different, but I still liked watching him.
All three acts play on the self-deprecating humour, which is something I enjoy as it can be quite therapeutic. Much like last time, there was a really strong line-up. The quality of the performers is to be guaranteed when going to Bent Double as it’s such a popular night.
