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| Doug Stanhope |
Halfway through tonight’s set, cult US comedian Doug Stanhope asks the sold out ‘Just the Tonic’ crowd, “Have you ever considered putting yourself on the sex offender’s register?”. There’s a nervous laugh, we’re not sure where he’s going with this, but after a short pause he continues, “because then you have an excuse to tell your friends not to bring their annoying kids round to your house”. The place erupts in laughter and applause, not for the first time tonight. He’s managed to make topics that should be safe seem subversive and made subversive opinions sound like reasonableness themselves.
Doug Stanhope’s never played a Nottingham gig before and made only a few appearances on UK TV, on BBC4’s Screenwipe, the satirical and frequently scathing Charlie Brooker vehicle, which makes the packed house a little surprising. And if you weren’t familiar with him you’d be a little disappointed to begin with. His description of himself as a ‘short, dishevelled, drunken man’ sums him up with the accuracy and lack of sentimentality that he applies to his many targets. And, as he admits to us at the start of the show, having placed a couple of bottles of beer and a shot of something nasty looking on the table behind him, he’s prepared no set for tonight. He frequently pauses, visibly gathers his thoughts and fumbles towards the crux of his routines.
After a little while though he warms up, taking on subjects from anarchists protesting against government cuts (“Don’t you find that a little contradictory?”), religion, addiction and how best to ruin the Royal Wedding (stick a fake brass plaque over plaque on any statue you can find in London saying ‘The Prophet Mohammed – by order of Prince William and wife to be.’ in case you were wondering). He finishes with a routine, the subject of which could perhaps best be described as being about a childhood sweetheart, before leaving to a practically unheard of standing ovation.
(Doug Stanhope on 'Have I Got News for You' on the current tour - contains swearing)
He’s a comic who’s been called angry, offensive, abrasive and provocative and it’s certainly true he’s unlikely to be appearing on any Michael McIntyre fronted Saturday night BBC 1 comedy showcases any time soon. His provocative and abrasive material is however also a far cry from the lazy and petty ‘Mock the Week’ style comedy, where pointing out the shortcomings of such luminaries and Susan Boyle and Kerry Katona passes for edgy and confrontational. Stanhope doesn’t bother with such easy targets. His anger is focussed on dishonesty, cant and humbug. It’s the righteous anger of the idealist and the disappointed romantic. He doesn’t want to muse on the hilarious foibles of the world, he’d rather try to change it. He’s been compared to Bill Hicks, the preacher-like cult comedian of the early 1990’s. These comparisons are awry. He’s much, much better than Bill Hicks. If you want a comparison try Lennie Bruce. One thing is for sure, he’s not for everyone but there’s no-one like him performing on Britain’s increasingly career focussed and sanitised comedy circuit. Very highly recommended.
David Millington
7th April 2011
Nottingham
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