BROADWAY BABY 

Jo Caulfield strides on stage with all the self-assuredness of the seasoned performer that she is. Wryly observing the audience, she comments that we ‘look holidayish – last night’s audience dressed up more’, and this sets the scene for some gentle audience interaction where Caulfield pointed out some ‘silver foxes’ and ‘peaky wankers’. This is an hour of safe, middle class tomfoolery which will keep you in a state of merriment for the full hour.

Despite asserting at the beginning that there is no deeper message or ‘journey’ contained within her performance, Caulfield does foray into the occasional political observation. An anti tory quip and an introspection on the gendered nature of attitudes to promiscuity demonstrate the hidden depths in her material, exercised with her natural finesse.

Misadventures in Harrods, robbing Air-BnB’s and being flashed on a Greek holiday are all topics explored by Caulfield, who deals well with an audience member disclosing her own experience of indecent exposure at the hands of her best friend’s dad. And toward the end, Caulfield also exercises a feat of genius as she dissects the non-sensical; re-writing her own pornography improv-style, calling back all the previous quips and audience interactions and injecting them seamlessly into the story line.

An hour of consistently high standard comedy, though nothing which breaks barriers or comes across as cutting edge – which, admittedly, isn’t the vibe Caulfield is going for. An easy going hour of middle class conviviality which will keep you amused from start to finish.