Jessica Harris watches a night of comedy at Birmingham Rep.
Richard Blackwood, TV personality, actor and MasterChef contestant (there’s little he hasn’t turned his hand to), headlined Live at the Rep this month. As a performer whose physical presence fully occupied the stage and whose material was daring and innovative, he more than earned the spotlight.
From Cancel Culture to how different races swear, his brand of humour was big and bold. Dressed in black tracksuit splodged with huge white daisies, he filled the stage, using everything he had – posture, gesture and voice – to impersonate and mock. But his mocking was gentle. You might even call it compassionate. Fair to say that most would warm to this guy.
Not one to sidestep, he covered issues from the increase in ADHD diagnosis to why people of Indian heritage have become so successful in Britain. He’s not always politically correct for sure. But then that’s his point. If we are too fearful of Cancel Culture, we silence ourselves. Yes, his material on learning disabilities was dodgy but his point here was about the shift in generational attitudes. The audience at the Rep loved him. And just for the record, it was a pretty diverse audience too.
Shazia Mirza was the other highlight of the evening. Pithy and dry, her humour went to the wire, breaking through stereotypes associated with Muslim women. As a Brummie, she has earned the right to talk about the city and how, as a brown woman from Birmingham, others think she must be Malala. As a former secondary school science teacher she’s probably also earned the right to talk about young people and Shamima Begum was in her sights. In Mirza’s eyes it was youthful rebellion that drove Begum rather than any ideology.
A buster of every taboo, she acts as if she doesn’t care what people think of her. If you’re a Guardian reader, you might take offence at some of the material. But the irony is that Mirza herself has written columns for the Guardian.
The glue for the event was the brilliant Jo Enright of Phoenix Nights and I’m Alan Partridge. Host for the evening and another Brummie, she had a great connection with the audience. Her deadpan delivery was matched by an outfit of oversized green dress and overlong green velvet trousers. Her fillers between the acts focused on domestic stuff, on being a mother and on her neighbourhood of Erdington. Having a child late in life so that she could get tech support was one of the best gags of the evening.
Alex Egan provided the warm-up act for the first half and Ollie Reyhart for the second half.
Live at the Rep is just one of many events at the Birmingham Rep that is fostering new and diverse audiences. For further information visit birmingham-rep.co.uk .