Katherine Ryan’s Glam Role Model tour. Photo from Aberdeen Performing Arts.
As Katherine Ryan’s Glam Role Model tour stopped off at the Gulbenkian, Henry Sandercock reviewed the comedian’s latest stand-up performance
A fixture of our television screens from late-night panel shows, Katherine Ryan has cornered the market for “pop-bitch” comedy – and her latest show does not disappoint. With jokes ranging from being a single-parent through to the recent General Election, Ryan captures contemporary Western culture hilariously.
With this particular brand of comedy, there’s always the danger that the show becomes a bit too formulaic, as the comedian often moves from subject to subject in a predictable pattern. Luckily, Ryan does not fall into this trap, as she links her material well and the show therefore has a satisfying flow to it.
The only weak area in the performance comes in the form of support act Harriet Kemsley. Her material received some laughs, but she reverted to the kind of unoriginal mainstream comedy that blights us whenever Live At The Apollo is on television; it would have been funny ten years ago, but it has subsequently become a bit safe and dull in recent times.
But, Ryan didn’t fail to live up to her expectations. Particular highlights include her routine on Tulisa, where she criticises her blowjob technique, and an analysis of Beyonce’s dancing face; she describes it as being like a reaction to a bad smell that Queen B is angry about. She also goes to some pretty dark places, pointing out how Mo Farah is the only Somalian who takes gold on land.
All in all, it’s a thoroughly entertaining show where belly laughs are in abundance. Ryan is the queen of pop comedy and long may she reign!
Glam Role Model tours the country until 2 July.
