Now, this is how to make an entrance. The DJ drops a track (after some lengthy warm-up work), Dave Chappelle’s big, bald silhouette is projected on to a white curtain, which then drops to reveal the elusive US stand-up, cigarette in hand.
It’s a pretty badass start to Chappelle’s first ever UK shows, and he’s greeted with a roaring standing-O. How can he keep the energy up from here? By launching straight into incisive, playful material about the Bill Cosby rape accusations, Isis’s viral success and the ‘coolest Pope ever’s views on homosexuality – naturally…
‘I need you to know that I know what I’m saying is wrong,’ the 41-year-old comic reassures us. But he doesn’t need to. Even at his most contentious – like when describing how ‘only fun people get Aids’ – Chappelle’s issue-driven material is backed up with intelligently thought-through points (well, except for when he’s being shocking for his own amusement). You might not agree with all of his opinions, but the ‘Chappelle’s Show’ frontman’s handling of weighty topics is never less than fascinating.
It’s not all hard-hitting thoughts on racial politics or male rape, though. Chappelle – chain-smoking throughout – seamlessly shifts into proper grown-up filth. There are stories of his foot-fucking fetish and being blackmailed by a sex tape, alongside more dick-jokes than on a teenage boy’s Twitter feed. But it rarely jars with his politically-charged jibes. In fact, tonight, it feels like Chappelle could talk about anything and keep the audience on side. ‘I don’t know if you’ve ever been rich before…’ starts one routine, but his loose, relaxed confidence keeps us on board for a knowingly pompous story about being forced to fly economy, even if it does end with a lazy joke about being sat next to a fat woman.
That isn’t the only weak link, either. After the relentlessly funny first half hour of mischief there’s, almost inevitably, a lull as he relaxes into more personal stories. But despite the flaws, at his best Chappelle’s impish goading reaches highs that other comics only dream of. Behind the laidback delivery is a master craftsman. Good job too, really, otherwise that entrance would’ve looked somewhat arrogant, eh?