A cosy evening of funny stories about the absurdity of the North-Eastern people, hosted by a proud Geordie.
Entering a small comedy club to a full audience, gathered around little tables and drinking beer in the almost darkness is usually a sign of a good night, and Raul Kohli supplied just that. Especially for 5pm on a Sunday, it was nice to see people coming to enjoy an intimate comedy performance together.
His show was not the usual reel of jokes you’d expect from a stand-up comedian, but rather a sit-down story time about the North East, and the absurd situations brought about by crazy (or as the promotional posters described them, passionate) people. As someone who grew up only 45 minutes from Newcastle but never really spent much time there, I learnt a lot about the infamous people of the region, and some of the more strange reasons people are proud to call it home.
Not all of the jokes landed with me personally, but the audience around me loved it, so it is a thing of perspective rather than quality. I think enjoyment of the content is affected by how well you know the recent history of the North East, but to someone from outside it more gleans an insight to the culture. It was delightful to hear the stories from a proud Geordie.
Raul did lose his place a few times, but covered well. The show also repeatedly took a wrong turn as the PowerPoint kept landing on the wrong slide, however this just added to the hilarity, with out-of-context images supplementing the stories in a way which couldn’t have been funnier if it was scripted.
If one thing can be taken from the show, it is that people from the North East are certainly unique.