Simon Amstell
Event: Simon Amstell
Venue: Grand Opera House
Rating: * * * *
The opening line of Simon Amstell’s show, “One year ago, I went on a painful journey of self-discovery, and discovered that the self doesn’t exist”, set the tone for a show in which philosophy and comedy combined to ego-destructing but hilarious effect.
Amstell skilfully weaved together anecdotes from his failed relationships, middle-class eco-angst, and confessional tales of his own lack of empathy.
Central to his show is the idea that we are a lot less important than we think we are. He recounts his reaction upon receiving an elated friend’s news that she is going to have a baby. “Oh really,” replies Amstell. “You know who else had a baby? Everyone.”
Amstell has described his comedy as “the comedy of guilt and awkwardness” .
Even his experiences of being in Thailand when the Tsunami hit are tinged with feelings of embarassment. “I would’ve run when I saw it coming”, he tells us, “but what if it had turned out to be nothing? That would’ve been really embarassing! So I waited.”
Occasionally, it seemed that Amstell, whose York performance was part of an exhausting tour, stuggled to remember exactly where his set was going. But even those moments were handled with perfectly balanced mix of self-deprication and sharp humour.
Loading ...