Josie Long, All the Planets Wonders (Shown in Detail) , Exeter Phoenix, Thursday 5 February 2009
By Jenna Richards
COMEDIENNE Josie Long bounded on to the stage on the first date of her latest tour All the Planet’s Wonders (Shown in Detail).
Excitedly she gushed out a meandering stream of dialogue, breathlessly moving from one subject to the next.
But despite the energy and the stream-of-conscious style speech, the comedy was remarkably easy to follow.
There was no diversion into unimaginable surrealism. Instead Josie made genuine observations, although not necessarily every day interpretations.
She talked at length about the surreal comic creations of 13th century artist Hieronymus Bosch. And even produced drawings of her personal interpretation of his work.
All the Planet’s Wonders is about Josie’s recent discovery of science. She has realised that as an adult learning how things work can be fascinating – and even comical.
“Did you know that the East Asian Swift Owl makes its nest entirely of saliva.”
The fresh faced 26-year-old has boundless energy. She is fully committed to every joke and carries it through to the end.
Her brand of humour is childlike, but not childish, the odd swear word uttered in the show seems almost naughty.
The audience is bombarded with interesting and amusing facts.
I did find myself glancing at my watch wondering when it would end as she launched into a particularly long section about enlightenment. It did sometimes feel more like a lecture than a comedy act.
But if you can forgive Josie giving the odd obsession too long an airing you are rewarded with some distinctive and original comedy.
It was plain to see why her particular brand of comedy would transfer well on to television. Her writing credits include Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Channel 4’s Skins, plus an appearance in the latest series of Skins.
It seems her career is starting to take off.
Overall it was a very good show from an innovative young comedian.
There were plenty of laughs from the audience at a show which had been painstakingly put together by someone with a deep passion for their art – the programme and many graphs used in the show were hand drawn.