Amusements at Soho Theatre: Surgical, politically correct witticisms for all ages
Amusements stand-up Ike is not only very comfortable in his own skin, but also a methodical comedian who takes his profession very seriously
Ikechukwu Ufomadu, Ike, for short, hails from New York but the humour in his show Amusements will travel far, carving its way with surgical precision along shared cultural references but avoiding any sensitive nerve. No scatological references, no mentions of bodily functions, race, politics, disability or sex.
The only number ones and twos that you will hear him mention are precisely that: numbers. Ike is a stand-up comedian who is 100% HR policy compliant, can be safely deployed in the workplace and will draw at least a few belly laughs in any culture: a rare feat, deserving an award all of its own. If you think that sounds boring, prepare to stand corrected.
Dressed in a tuxedo and bow tie, wearing and then taking off glasses as he reads his notes, he’s elegantly articulate. He got to me late, thirty minutes in, with “quality control”, a gag where, in response to a previous number that hadn’t turned out as funny as hoped, interviewed the first row on why they thought the joke hadn’t worked.
He is also a talented impersonator and. Interlude feature skits based on JFK in an evangelical political speech mode, a confused Michael Caine, a pompous Ian McKellen-esque actor bluffing his way through a Shakespeare sonnet having forgotten his glasses, and a tuneful Louis Armstrong. Guest appearances, in no order of importance, are also made by Stanislavsky, in a long quote on acting; the “New York Bus”, whose wheels go round and then, would you believe it, go round again; Moby Dick’s Ishmael, a FAQ PowerPoint, the alphabet song and a few more cultural props.
It is always a relief to watch a stand-up act without seeing any of the personal traumas driving the need to perform. Ike is not only very comfortable in his own skin, but also a methodical comedian who takes his profession very seriously. If laughter is the best medicine, he is one of the hardest-working medics I’ve met.
• Amusements was on at the Soho Theatre – for more visit the website here
