Saturday, April 14, 2007
Regaling us with everything from bitchin' haikus and mimed samurai battles to Venn diagrams involving mushrooms on toast all delivered through her warm Kentish tones, her many and varied favourite things soon became ours. There is something irresistible about watching people get passionate about stuff, kids, old guys on buses, it's all good. Long however, not only does this in a completely hilarious way - often via multimedia, but has a welcome darker edge to the comedy too, and the timing of the darker stuff works brilliantly. Though much of her material is Brit-centric, when some references fly by, her expressions, overwhelming positivity and rapid-fire speed of her material still has you slapping your legs crimson. You can feel a fierce confidence and intellect behind the disarmingly winsome grinsome nature of her jokes, but this never manifests in arrogance. Long has an ability to speak to the audience as one and this is Uno-referencing celiac gains trust faster than most established comedians could dream of. With as many tangents as Ross Nobel, Long takes you from one incongruous passion to the next in an almost surreal trajectory that her comic brilliance ties together after the laughs from sheer randomness have finished. Ever inventive and spectacularly original Josie Long is a surefire bet in a world of uncertainty. With passion like this, she - and you - can't lose.
Town Hall
Without a doubt - and within the opening minutes - this show becomes the pick of the festival. A virtual unknown and unlike pretty much any other comedian/ne I've seen (though occasionally Andrew McLelland sprung cheerily to mind) Long, via free homemade badges, a hilarious DIY zine and request for the audience to write down their "favourite really small thing" seemingly wins everyone over before even opening her mouth.
Without a doubt - and within the opening minutes - this show becomes the pick of the festival. A virtual unknown and unlike pretty much any other comedian/ne I've seen (though occasionally Andrew McLelland sprung cheerily to mind) Long, via free homemade badges, a hilarious DIY zine and request for the audience to write down their "favourite really small thing" seemingly wins everyone over before even opening her mouth.
Regaling us with everything from bitchin' haikus and mimed samurai battles to Venn diagrams involving mushrooms on toast all delivered through her warm Kentish tones, her many and varied favourite things soon became ours. There is something irresistible about watching people get passionate about stuff, kids, old guys on buses, it's all good. Long however, not only does this in a completely hilarious way - often via multimedia, but has a welcome darker edge to the comedy too, and the timing of the darker stuff works brilliantly. Though much of her material is Brit-centric, when some references fly by, her expressions, overwhelming positivity and rapid-fire speed of her material still has you slapping your legs crimson. You can feel a fierce confidence and intellect behind the disarmingly winsome grinsome nature of her jokes, but this never manifests in arrogance. Long has an ability to speak to the audience as one and this is Uno-referencing celiac gains trust faster than most established comedians could dream of. With as many tangents as Ross Nobel, Long takes you from one incongruous passion to the next in an almost surreal trajectory that her comic brilliance ties together after the laughs from sheer randomness have finished. Ever inventive and spectacularly original Josie Long is a surefire bet in a world of uncertainty. With passion like this, she - and you - can't lose.
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