A Stand Up of Night of American Comedy for Jolly Good Laughs.
Dulcé Sloan made her United Kingdom debut at the Soho Theatre on Wednesday. The Daily Show comedian known for political satire and targeted roasts of the former host, Trevor Noah, pivoted as her set primarily focused on her own family’s chaotic dynamics. Her set exemplifies the best aspects of American culture in a time when the United States’ is fraught with divisiveness.
The show began with a set from former model turned actor and comedian, Michelle de Swarte. Her set included jokes on the all too taboo subject of her experience with perimenopause. A highlight of this bit was a comparison made between how she now pushes HRT on her friends like people who are new to psychotherapy recommend it to anyone they talk to. Once the crowd was ready and warm, de Swarte announced the show’s headliner. As Sloan’s run continues, American comedian Jay Whittaker will also be opening for her.
Dulcé Sloan opened by cracking jokes at Swarte’s expense which sent the audience rolling. She then opened her set with jokes tailored for her English audience. She recounted how she didn’t take British police or criminals seriously due to their lack of weapons and her confidence that she could take them in a fight as someone from a “first-world, third-world country”. She also queried as to why the Black British members of the audience chose to come to the UK, since unlike her enslaved ancestors, they knew it was cold. While her set covered a variety of topics, most of which were not directly related, all of her jokes were thoughtful and punchy. As a stand-up veteran, her set was fluid and expertly combined pre-written material with crowd-work and the circumstances of the day.
The crowned jewel of Sloan’s set is her bit on having her mother and brother live with her as a grown woman in the house that she owns. While everyone can relate to the universal stress of having your relatives in your house, Sloan then made it even more personal by differentiating these difficulties as a Black woman. Even though she owns her house, she is a “41-year-old woman who can’t have sex in it” because her mother sleeps downstairs.
Other stand-out moments from her set included jokes about the consequences of wealthy white women’s feminism and a PSA against “broke dick”. I have an inkling that Sloan may be workshopping some of the material for a longer show or special. At one point following a quippy punchline, Sloan turned away from the audience to voice note it into her phone. This act, while utilitarian, also served as an additional joke for the crowd.
Dulcé Sloan’s comfortability and ease on stage kept the crowd with her the entire time. No matter how risqué or controversial the joke might be (such discussing her own body as “obese” or commenting that English people’s bodies look the way they do from their loss of sunlight when they crossed the continents a millennia ago), she had us laughing the entire time.
The show is a short and sweet one-hour long. If you’re a stand-up comedy enthusiast, Dulcé Sloan’s show is the perfect activity for a sure-fire belly laugh. This show has a limited run as it closes this Saturday March 22nd.