Roundhouse Comedy Opening Gala with Rose Matafeo – Roundhouse, Camden

Reviewer: Christine Stanton

“Superb Stand-Up”

4.5 / 5

~This review was originally written for The Reviews Hub ~

Roundhouse isn’t normally home to comedy but the opening gala kicks off 19 days of excellent sounding shows as part of its comedy festival. The curated mix of well-known household names and upcoming performers with work-in-progress performances results in a very exciting-looking line-up, and the opening night doesn’t disappoint.

The evening is hosted by the gorgeously glitzy Kiri Pritchard-Mclean in a fabulously sparkling dress that is just as impressive as her crowd work. Always a strong choice for a compere she takes her time to naturally interact with the audience, asking the typical ‘Are you a couple? / What do you do?’ questions, and responding with on-the-spot hilarious retorts that showcase her quick-thinking wit and charisma multiple times throughout the evening.

Rhys James kicks off the night with his to-be-expected brilliant set that automatically sets the tone for the show. Now in his 30s he no longer takes MDMA or has crazy nights out; instead, he spends seven minutes watching YouTube videos about how to keep a fleece soft after washing. His scathing criticism on why Wim Hof’s cold water shower method is hell on earth ends his set with roaring audience laughter – a fantastic comedian as the perfect opener.

Jordan Gray also has an impeccable set – a mix between original songs and stand-up, her infectious ‘Russell Brand’ like energy automatically rubs off on the audience. Her opening song ‘Celia C’ is an insight into her big secret – spoiler alert, she’s gluten free. Her wordplay is fantastic and she’s also a whizz on the piano – all compliments she reminds the audience of during her not-so-modest humble brag finale song ‘Better Than You’, which at this point – who can argue with her?!

The second half of the show starts with Amy Gledhill who is simply an excellent storyteller. Self-proclaimed Yorkshire Lizzo, she immediately connects with the audience by happily recounting some of her funniest memories. Her stories are told with such fantastic detail that it’s impossible not to visualise them in their entirety. One in particular, eating weed-infused chocolate on a date with her partner and freaking out in Pizza Express is genuinely funny and naturally delivered. Gledhill was born to be a comedian.

Character comedian Lolly Adefope announces she has quit the comedy scene since dominating Hollywood and is moving into a new phase of her career – novels. Treating the audience to a preview of her writing that will be retailing at £75 online, once picked up by a publisher, she whizzes through some of the excerpts within the 1000-chapter book. Two sentence chapters such as ‘favourite girl names’ and ‘why I love the Louvre’ get huge laughs from half of the crowd, and blank confused stares from the other half wondering what on earth is going on. Her strange character, joke-sparse set is further exacerbated as she leaves and comes back dressed as Ted Lasso – promoting Apple TV and Ted Lasso for an odd five-minute finale.

Finally, headliner Rose Matafeo takes to the stage to close out the evening. Her intentionally awkward demeanour is charming and likeable, worrying about not finding love in her 30’s and reminiscing how she’s had to get over various breakups. In addition to the foray into her romantic life, she throws in a few jokes that she wrote on the train, purposefully unrefined she plays into the ‘so uncool that she’s cool’ persona she’s created for herself, with great reception from the audience.

If this opening gala is in any way significant to the rest of the festival, then it’s going to be a very promising few weeks. An iconic venue home to an exciting new addition to the comedy and festival scene, full of great options for a night out before the end of Summer.

Reviewed on 5 August 2023

The Roundhouse Comedy Festival runs until 23 August 2023