Home » Reviews » Comedy » Variety of Kings, The Star of Kings – Review

Variety of Kings, The Star of Kings – Review

Pros: Stellar performances by a great line-up of stand-up comedians made for a terrifically fun and entertaining Wednesday night. 

Cons: Comedians sometimes need a space to try out ideas. Sometimes these work, other times not…

Pros: Stellar performances by a great line-up of stand-up comedians made for a terrifically fun and entertaining Wednesday night.  Cons: Comedians sometimes need a space to try out ideas. Sometimes these work, other times not… I love comedy nights. Is there anything better than having someone who is witty, entertaining and smart attempt to charm the pants off you? As an added bonus, you are not expected to be silent, cringe at the thought of sneezing or – Lord forbid! – unwrapping a cough drop as with some performances. On the contrary, you are encouraged to laugh, whoop and…

Summary

Rating

Excellent

A brilliant and varied night of entertainment featuring some excellent stand-up comedy and laughter-inducing sketches.


I love comedy nights. Is there anything better than having someone who is witty, entertaining and smart attempt to charm the pants off you? As an added bonus, you are not expected to be silent, cringe at the thought of sneezing or – Lord forbid! – unwrapping a cough drop as with some performances. On the contrary, you are encouraged to laugh, whoop and generally make as many (positive) noises as possible.

Comedy nights should be available to everyone 24/7, but comedian and organiser Katie Pritchard was right when she recognised that they are thin on the ground in the earlier days of the week. Thankfully she then decided to launch Variety of Kings last year to counteract this sore lack of Wednesday night laughter.

As the name suggests, the audience at The Star of Kings pub near Kings Cross was treated to a varied programme of stand-up comedy presented by six different performers, with additional quips thrown in by the rather brilliant host Katie (who knew that representing a tea cup could be funny?!).

This fifth instalment of Variety of Kings in the cosy and intimate pub cellar at The Star of Kings made for a great night out. Some performances were better than others, but comedians sometimes need a space to try out ideas and gauge an audience’s reaction. In this case it worked very well for Nick Hall who presented us with an excerpt of his brand new one-man spy thriller, but maybe less so (at least for me, and I realise that comedy is subjective!) for Candy Gigi: she played the harried mum of a new-born which turned out to be a raw chicken!

I really enjoyed the charged performance of James Ross, who kicked off the night with his excellent ideas for new HMS names, and Philippa and Rosie, who brought our constant struggle with Google to life. They also gave the song “I Drove All Night” a feminist ending, and explored how two male doctors in the early 20th century might have considered curing female bodies. Jon Long gave us a wonderful stand up sketch with songs, and headliner Henry Von Stifle was last in the line-up with hilarious excerpts of his new show.

It is hard to describe comedy – it never sounds as funny on paper – but rest assured that those pants were charmed off (if not literally). If you find yourself at a loose end on a Wednesday night in February, do check out Variety of Kings next stellar line-up.

Organiser: Katie Pritchard
Booking Link: http://varietyofkingscome.wix.com/varietyofkings
Next Event: Wednesday 17 February 2016

About Elke Wiebalck

Aspiring arts manager. Having moved to London in search of a better and more exciting life, Elke left a small Swiss village behind her and found herself in this big and ruthless city, where she decided to join the throngs of people clustering to find their dream job in the arts. She considers herself a bit of an actor, but wasn’t good enough to convince anyone else. She loves her bike, and sitting in the sun watching the world go by. Elke firmly believes that we all would be fundamentally better if more people went to the theatre, more often.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*