Russell Kane "Smallness" at Northern Stage: review

Russell Kane “Smallness”  Northern Stage  06/11/13

 

 

Stage One was packed full of a variety of comedy and theatre fans as support act Steve Bugeja took to the stage. Here described the life of a 23 year old from Manchester who still goes with his Mum for the ‘big shop’. He ran off a big list of why he was special – including how he went on a lads holiday to Magaluf and managed to finish 8 books. A significant part of the routine explored the linguistic usefulness of swear words.

 

Russell Kane burst onto the stage to a loud fanfare and continued to bounce around the wide stage for nearly 90 minutes with his amusing blend of observations and stories.  Initially he waxed lyrically about the North East,  their accent and the usual Northern Stage audience. After warming the large crowd up he reflected upon how the British love smallness, from avoiding the glance of other people to avoiding meeting people more than once on holiday. This trait was compared with other nationalities with fabulous comic timing. We heard about his Mancunian fiancée and how he frequently gets mistaken for Nick Grimshaw, occasionally with embarrassing results.

 

Stage One at the Northern Stage is a much more intimate venue in which to enjoy comedy than hangar-like arenas. Russell knew how to work the audience and this reviewer left still wanting to hear more.

 

Words: Steve Oliver

 

Pictures: press shots from the comics' websites, thanks!