‘Can TikTok comedians cut it live?’. A question we’re condemned to be reading think pieces about for years to come, as a generation that found fame on the social media platform tries to hack it in clubs. One of the first out of the traps with a full show is Toronto-based TikToker Laura Ramoso, who has racked up tens of millions of views for her online skits, and now turning her hand to more conventional IRL comedy with her debut hour ‘Frances’. There is, undeniably, a strange vibe at points: a skit about her stern German mother feels extra to the show, but is greeted with roars of approving recognition from the outset. Obviously her TikTok success hasn’t turned her into an arena-size superstar, but it’s clearly acquired her some fans. The substance of ‘Frances’ revolves around the eponymous character, a scatty young woman who was unexpectedly dumped by her boyfriend Frank a couple of months back – something she sings about at length, in a wildly offkey voice. And she has news: she’s been thrown into a tizz by Frank unexpectedly phoning and asking if they can meet up. Six foot one and with enough energy to power a small country, Ramoso plays both Frances and Frank in a series of skits that build towards their meeting. If it feels a little rooted in a North American perspective on dating, there’s some very funny stuff in there, not least her co-opting of a couple of audience members as the couple’s respective best friends, and a loopy attempt to do an impression of the manager
Comedy tribute acts are all the rage these days. First Kenneth Williams, then Eric and Ern. Now it’s the turn of another UK comedy giant, Tommy Cooper, to get the ‘Stars in Their Eyes’ treatment – in this slight but thoroughly likeable show that comes with the approval of the Cooper estate.
At 6' 4", Cooper was a comedy giant in more ways than one. His lumbering frame and granite features (captured in John Claridge’s wonderful black-and-white photo portraits which stare down from the walls of the museum’s tiny performance space) were integral to his act, a perfect counterpoint to the childlike glee of his rapid-fire gags and artfully dysfunctional magic.
With that in mind, first impressions of the new Tommy Cooper – played by baby-faced 26-year-old John Hewer – are not great. However, with a tip of the fez here, a shrug of the shoulders there and, most importantly, excellent comic timing, the legendary Welsh comedian is slowly but surely resurrected, some 30 years after his death. It’s a fine, remarkably faithful performance from the talented Hewer.
So we get ‘spoon jar, jar spoon’, the farcical card tricks, the oddball props and that infectious cackle. At best it’s rather like a Harry Hill show: full of inspired lunacy and deep, belly laughs (in the case of the Cooper diehards in the audience, who know every word to these classic routines, laughter often escapes well before the punchlines). At worst it’s like suffering a string of rotten Christmas cracker jokes from an attention-seeking uncle.
Of course, this avalanche of jokes and magical flubs can be exhausting, and Hewer wisely employs musical interludes to add variety. Unfortunately, despite his obvious skill, pianist Christopher Peters simply performs a pair of lukewarm ditties in the Richard Stilgoe mould, complete with horribly dated Home Counties whimsy. It’s a poor fit and the only real misfire in an otherwise entertaining two hours.
One other thing to note: stick around for the interval, when you’ll be greeted by the awesome sight of a man slowly and solemnly letting the air out of an eight-foot inflatable giraffe, the remnants of some inspired shtick at the close of the first half. If that’s not reason enough to recommend a show, I don’t know what is.