Russell Kane
The Corn Exchange, Newbury

It’s an exhausting experience watching Russell Kane prancing and pirouetting about the stage as he runs through his part improvised / part story-telling routine. In fact, such is the level of improvisation that the “aborted triplet of Jedward” runs over his allotted time by almost half an hour as he flits between random thoughts and pre-written tales from his personal experiences. In fact, as Kane races through is routine, you have to question how long the comedian would have kept going at that pace had he indeed remembered to take his dose of Ritalin before taking to the stage.

As is the case with most comedians, live stand-up is what they enjoy doing most and Kane is no exception to the rule openly admitting to doing “some of those shit TV shows” purely to raise his profile. Manscaping, his latest live venture, sees him discussing class issues, sexuality, masculinity and a whole host of other topics running along the same themes. The problem with a show touching on subjects like those Kane discusses is that part of that audience arrive expecting more of the same tailored humour they’ve seen on the Beeb. Not the case and you can imagine the odd parent or two squirming next to their offspring as Kane launches into a routine about teenage masturbation. While sex and sexuality play a big part in Kane’s routine, class is also an issue which touches on a raw nerve with the comedian. From his experiences sitting in first class on a packed train to issues with his father, Kane has clearly experienced a rollercoaster of a life. Eventually, after one camp pirouette round the stage, Kane stops and answers the question at least half of the audience are wondering – “you know, I may look and act like this but I’m really not gay.”

The show progresses with Kane careering off into an X-factor bashing session questioning what exactly Cheryl Cole did in America to get booted back to the UK after one show before veering back slightly into more routines about sex, fame and his failures on a blind date with a glamour model who he had nothing in common with. Like his life, the show is a fast, chaotic ninety minutes but as it all falls into place for the final furious class-related anecdote, Kane leaves you in no doubt that he is one of the finest young comics on the UK circuit.

Review by Graham Finney