Foot Takes Over Stockholm

Paul Foot resides on the outer periphery of the Booshniverse – while he hasn’t appeared in any Boosh-related TV or film projects, his recent Edinburgh show, Ash in the Attic, was directed by Noel Fielding.  And he is bloody funny. Reasons enough for us to include him in The Velvet Onion! One of our Velveteers, Aggie, was lucky enough to see him perform live a few days ago in her home town of Stockholm; here’s her review of the gig:

I’m not one of those people who lives in comedy clubs, but when I discovered that Paul Foot was coming to my neighbourhood, I made darned sure I’d be there to bear witness on behalf of The Velvet Onion! I wasn’t the only one making my way over to Kafé Klavér for the show, as the tiny room was filled to the brim with people.

Tomas Ahlbeck compered the night, introducing Anders Celin as the first act, performing his first-ever English-speaking gig. He kicked things off with tales of a world of pepper orgasms and the dangers of food sex, his nervousness at performing in a foreign language slightly showing through. The second act was Ben Kersley, the only ‘Swinglish’ stand-up comedian in Sweden. It was no surprise when he launched into monologue about the similarity between Swedish and English, illustrated by a story about Gordon Ramsey “the kock/cock on TV” (in Swedish kock = chef). Kersley’s routine was centred around his views of Sweden through a Brit’s eyes, which worked well with the mixed audience.

Setting off the second half of the show was young comedian Evelyn Mok who charmed the crowd from the off with her brilliant facial expressions. Although the first moments of her routine consisted of little more than a sad face accompanied by deep sighs, it set the tone and kept the audience in stitches throughout her set. Mok’s jokes took their reference from her Chinese heritage and Western experiences, but managed to escape the obvious gags. And her sombre, yet intriguing, style was a perfect prelude to what was about to come.

Then finally it was time for what many in the crowd had come for: the final act! Paul Foot took the stage, clad in his trademark ensemble, and proceeded to what can only be described as ‘boggle our minds’. From explaining how to properly compliment a baker on the moistness of a cake, he transported us from the real, boring world into his own bizarre reality. A world where sugary mental asylums really exist, and are in some way connected to moist cakes. While the crowd was still busy processing this, Foot sped through topics as diverse as firemen and Sudoku (proclaiming that the former are “show-offs”). He introduced us to his “disturbances” as he called them, or what we might describe as thoughts he has written down on self-made cards. It was during this part that Paul Foot’s comedic genius really shone through, and as he talked about circus suicides, finger puppies and re-enacting an pretend phone call.

Closing the set was a mime session, or what the comedian dubbed “mime plus”… since it actually included talking. We were treated to an epic love story along with audience participation as Foot interacted with more or less delighted audience members!   Humping may or may not have been involved.  What was particularly impressive is that through all of the madness Foot’s delightful stage manner had the audience lapping it up, as if everything made absolute sense. If you get the chance to see Foot live, grab it! What you’ve seen on Buzzcocks is just the tip of a very funny iceberg.

To read more about Paul Foot and find out where he’s playing next, take a gander at his website. His show “Ash in the Attic” will be playing at the Soho Theatre, London in February and tickets are selling out fast.

And for another TVO Paul Foot exclusive, look out for our interview with the man himself which will follow soon!