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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Soho Theatre Live

Dane Baptiste

Comedy Central · 2017 · 30 min

A cynical, low-key set about modern adulthood and civilized apes.

Dane Baptiste is at his most relaxed and observational in this half-hour set, stripping away elaborate themes to focus on smaller, weirder targets. Filmed at London’s Soho Theatre in the West End, the show compiles stand-up material that bypassed his heavy-concept touring hours. His delivery is steady and conversational, letting the logic of his arguments do the heavy lifting rather than relying on high-energy stage antics.

One of the standout routines is a long-form riff on Travis the chimpanzee. Baptiste uses the tragic story of the domesticated ape to build a wider, cynical argument about the sheer arrogance of humans trying to teach table manners to wild animals. He also works through the quiet indignities of modern adulthood and dating, offering a perspective that feels both deeply sensible and completely exasperated.

This set originally aired on Comedy Central UK in August 2017 as part of their inaugural “Soho Theatre Live” series, later finding a home on Amazon Prime Video in 2020. Recorded during a period when Baptiste was rising through the ranks of British television following his BBC sitcom “Sunny D”, the performance captures him working a room at a deliberate, steady pace.

The set list

4 bits

  1. Surging up the Black celebrity charts

    Jokes that while Idris Elba and Lenny Henry compete for the top spot, he is positioned just below Tinie Tempah's barber.

  2. Adolescence

    Acts out both sides of a mini-conversation between his lusty self and his geeky self.

  3. Biblical top dog

    Imagines a tussle between Adam and Jesus.

  4. Marriage vows and life expectancy

    Observes that marriage vows were simpler to keep when life expectancy was 40 instead of 80.

How it plays

Tone
Playful, establishing serious points and peeling them back to find laughs.
On stage
Charismatic, genial joker and stylish performer.
Pace
Brisk and wide-ranging.
About
race, perils of romance and finding a partner, charity work, sex, vegetarianism, Islamic State

What the critics said

Praised by Bruce Dessau as a stylish performer with a genial, charismatic delivery who reliably hits the funny bone and adeptly peels back serious topics for laughs, even if certain observations are not entirely groundbreaking.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: comedy.co.uk, thetvdb.com, primevideo.com, beyondthejoke.co.uk, en.m.wikipedia.org.

Backstory

Part of the Soho Theatre Live series recording live stand-up comedy shows at London's Soho Theatre for broadcast on Comedy Central and later Prime Video.

Details

Released
Taped
Soho Theatre, London
Runtime
30 min
Where
Comedy Central
Director
Colin Dench
Topics

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