Review: Micky Flanagan @ St. David’s Hall
Micky Flanagan
St. David's Hall
Saturday 9th March 2013
This is it. When a fifty-year-old Cockney, after a decade of smaller successes, can burst into the mainstream with sell out UK tours, a sought-after DVD, TV appearances galore and still remain brilliantly true to himself, it seems that stand up comedy has reached a new peak.
Witty and wise, cheeky and charming; Micky Flanagan could heal the world with laughter and seems to be at an invincible point of his career’s evolution. Bringing his Back In The Game tour to Cardiff for the first time this year (he’ll be back in the Motorpoint come October) one of the most long-haired, bouncy and expressive male comedians on the circuit impressed from the outset.
Tackling the price of fame head on and getting straight in with some Savile digs, “It’s not easy being a middle-aged, male entertainer at the BBC at the moment…”, Micky’s style is fearless in its attack but rarely unnecessarily crude in its content. His hilarious depiction of his “old-skool” upbringing, back when “threatening kids with cigarettes burns” was acceptable introduced us to the teenage Micky he referred to at some length. By the sounds of it, little has changed.
Then, meandering in his East London drawl, more recent topics were brought into question. With a knack of presenting the everyday in often off-the-wall flourishes, his highly relatable observations tickled a packed St. David's Hall. Rinsing into the office worker who goes to Pret a Manger but craves a Greggs, and asking us to steal sandwiches from supermarkets (he “can't remember applying for a job scanning items at the self-service” checkout), his comedy is delightfully developed in its anecdotal flow.
Despite a loping limp adopted from his West Indian mates as a teenager, his triumphant tale of a catching a train in order to catch up with a missed bus was vivid and believable. Two words, in fact, which sum this show up rather well.
Even after a long set, Micky was gone too soon and I totally recommend you bagging tickets for his next Cardiff date. Back In The Game will metaphorically shake your body with its complete comedic package and as populist stand up shows go, you can’t beat it. In short, if you like a good laugh, you’ve got to be there.
Click here for info on upcoming comedy gigs at St. David's Hall
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