Ticking Boxes

Gina Yashere returns to her hometown to deliver a high-energy set that focuses on global travel, cultural misunderstandings, and her own health crises. Filmed before a crowd of over 2,000 at the O2 Academy Brixton in London, the hour acts as a showcase for a comic who spent years building a career in the UK before decamping to the United States to escape the ceiling of British television. At this point in 2017, Yashere was beginning her tenure as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and sold this hour to NBC’s short-lived comedy streaming platform Seeso.

Her material focuses on the absurdities of life on the move, with stories that span the globe. She recounts being profiled as a suspected drug trafficker in Bali, being stared at in China, and dealing with aggressive wildlife and systemic racism in Australia. Back home, she tackles more intimate, physical developments, walking the audience through her diagnosis with lupus, her struggles with sleep apnea, and the complex social choreography of coming out to her Nigerian mother — not as gay, but as vegan.

She remains an active, physical storyteller, punctuating jokes with broad facial expressions and physical mimes. While some of the transitions between her medical diagnoses and travel anecdotes feel abrupt, Yashere’s sheer stage presence and boisterous delivery hold the hour together.