Live At The Apollo - Series 6 Page 3

Shappi Khorsandi is not a bad comedian: the problem is that she's not a good one either.

She comes on stage and immediately makes it clear that not only is she a woman but she's also Iranian - thus rendering herself totally 'disapproval-proof'. I mean, who wants to be known as sexist, racist and religiously intolerant when it's easier to laugh politely at a few of her jokes while waiting patiently for the next act?

Most of her set was acceptable middle-of-the-road stuff but, as with so many women comedians, she lacked the courage and the confidence to stay away from titillating sexual material so included a story about some guy screwing her and ended with a couple of unsophisticated references to her genitalia.

Believe me, wannabe-stand-ups of BCG - if Shappi can get on the telly, almost ANYbody can.

From me a big hummmm for Shappi. I wish she would do better jokes. (This week Iran did make me laugh, they pulled in the British ambassador and complained abut the UK coppers' treatment of the student protesters... and they were right!)

Only wached Kevin Bridges, who I enjoyed a LOT more than usual.

I've enjoyed Kevin since I saw him on Comedy Roadshow. Strikes me as someone who's enjoying his success but isn't too high on it like some comics. Helps also that whilst he does rag on his homeland he doesn't do it obsessively so like most of Frankie Boyle's lazy stuff.

Shappi...yeah, she's just kind of there. I agree that she hurts herself automatically by putting up defences with her introduction. I just wish she'd stop telling us she was Iranian. If you're funny, you're funny. Where you come from has nothing to do with it, so stop hanging onto a gimmick and actually work on your act.

Jack is one of those 'on ocassion' comics for me. He's like a cheap clone of Russel Brand, 'look at my crap beard and offensive, slightly middle class antics!'. Accusations of him stealing jokes certainly haven't helped my opinion of him. He's really one of those new generation comedians who you know as a kid probably had to act like an immature prat the moment he noticed a relative had a video camera on the go.

Anyone else get uncomfortable with Lenny Henry doing black material? I can kind of understand it when up-and-coming black comics use this kind of stuff, to establish their stage personas, but surely Henry's beyond that now. He's done his time, he's pretty much white, no?

Ah, but you have to understand where he started, he started being an unfunny black guy and he wants to keep up that tradition...