Stephen K. Amos: Find the Funny

Stephen K. Amos is mellowing into middle age. In years gone by he’d developed an unfortunate reputation as a Saturday night crowd-pleaser, relying on limp-wristed pastiche to entertain audiences which, pints in hand, were looking for an easy laugh without exchanging numbers afterwards.

No longer. On the first Saturday night of his run, a copious number of pints remain in evidence in the crowd, but on stage a transformation has occurred. He still flounces around, camper than a picnic basket under a rainbow, but Amos speaks with the wisdom of a jilted lover. Having waited by the phone for a television offer that never came following his performance at the Royal Variety Show last November, Amos’ material has acquired a mature confidence. Banter with audience members reveals an intelligence and worldliness informing every joke he pitches. Exhortations to “find the funny” begin to seem less like empty schtick.

Accents and stereotypes fail to mask the fact that Amos is culturally conversant and well informed. His messsage – of reconnecting in an age of cynicism and technological distractions – is soundly built from far-flung anecdotes: an apology for slavery, social networking, and what happens when someone breaks wind on the tube and doesn’t own up.

Amos at times leaves some of his audience behind, but the size of the laughs and lack of heckling from a hot, drink-fuelled crowd suggests they don’t mind. His is a thoughful and entertaining set that is more feel-good than most late-night acts dare, but from a performer as earnest and likeable as this, the sermon is well received.