Paul Chowdhry at Colston Hall Review
Posted on: 2017-11-06
Our rating:
Brimming with confidence and enough energy to power up the whole of Bristol, Paul dealt with any curveballs with an instant wit that would rival even the most established of comedians.
The comic genius Paul Chowdhry performed his third stand-up tour twice in one night at the Colston Hall yesterday – something that has never been done by the venue or himself before. He made reference to the fact that he was meant to be in the main room rather than the much more intimate Lantern Theatre, but he said he got replaced by some “white dude with a guitar” and therefore had to have two back to back repeat gigs in the smaller room to perform to all the people who had bought tickets.
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This gig followed his debut ‘What’s Happening White People?’ and his second tour ‘PC’s World’ and you could feel the excitement in the Lantern build up before he came on stage. His nationwide tour has been met with consistent praise so far and I’m pleased to say that he didn't hold back when it came to his usual 'close to the bone' comedy. He was as great live as I hoped he would be; having been a fan of his for a while - I have never actually had the chance to see him live before last night.
For those of you that don’t know, Paul is well known as a host of the Channel 4 comedy series Stand Up for the Week and has appeared on Taskmaster, 8 Out of 10 Cats and the Comedy World Cup. He has also twice headlined Live at the Apollo and his last 100-date tour sold out around the country. But despite all of these milestones in the entertainment industry, several people say “Who is that?” when his name is mentioned and as Paul himself said during the Bristol gig: "I'm the most famous, non-famous comedian there is!"
The show started with Paul’s usual hilarious abuse slung at varying racial groups in the crowd, the Gujaratis got it first which was especially funny for my husband who happens to have an ancestory that descends from this region of India. People were literally crying with laughter near me; he was a true high speed attack on the brain and he didn’t let up at all throughout his brutal set.
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His references to the usual Dave and Tracy made an appearance and if you don’t know who they are, may I suggest you watch one of his recordings because there will be no spoilers in this review (although I will say that the photo of Dave in the snow got one of the biggest explosive laughs of the night.) He spoke to us about the death threats he receives on a regular basis and showed us some visual examples of tweets/messages he has got via a backdrop screen, all of which had people clutching their sides as he retailiated in his usual fashion.
Brimming with confidence and enough energy to power up the whole of Bristol, Paul dealt with any curveballs with an instant wit that would rival even the most established of comedians. When a heckler decided to shout out a profanity to him, Paul destroyed him with a vocal onslaught and when an audience member mentioned the harrowing subjects of death quickly followed by suicide when he was interacting with her, Mr Chowdhry managed to still appear unfazed with the direction the night went in and yet also sympathetic at the same time. It went as well as it could have gone in a situation which must be a potential nightmare for stand up comics - where they have to deal with unexpected, unpredictable information at a gig. That's the thing about Paul, he's smart, vibrant and sharp; there appears to be no way of throwing him off his game.
We learnt a few gems about Paul along the way during this show, such as how mortified his family is that he’s still not married at the age of 43 and how white woman are his “favourite flavour” and it all added to the overall enjoyment of this gig.
This is a man who is brutally upfront and takes no prisoners, yet you can’t help but warm to him; he’s also a star which is going to continue to rise and I am 100% sure he will be greeted with another packed crowd when he returns to the Colston Hall (in the main room this time!) on the 18th of May 2018. Well done that man.
For more information on his gigs, click here.
Article by:
Kelly worked as a journalist for the BBC for 12 years before she changed careers and went into the field of marketing. Having worked at BBC 6 Music for several years, she is passionate about many different genres of sound. Her other interests include theatre, comedy, books, food and days out with the family (she has a young daughter who she describes as a "whirlwind of fun.") Kelly is married to Vik who is a true Bristolian to the core! She is also studying nutritional therapy.
