Funmbi Omotayo: Legal Immigrant
Gilded Balloon (Venue 14)
Verdict: four stars
If delivering a set in a sweltering hot, poorly lit room in front of a lukewarm audience is the ultimate litmus test for a young comic, then Harrods-porter-turned-stand-up star Funmbi Omotayo passed with flying colours. The Londoner’s genial personality and easy going delivery saw him coast through a thoroughly enjoyable show.
Originating from a London scene in which urban black comedians often become YouTube sensations off the back of milked African accents and not much substance, Omotayo is a breath of fresh air. He seeks to go above and beyond a style that he tells me is “backwards”. With sweat still dropping from his brow following the set, he says with a concerned look on his face: “I didn’t want to do the typical, I got to Africa and there were cows chasing me up and down. People will laugh but is that what you want them to know?”
Advertisement
Taking advantage of his unique upbringing, Omotayo steers his audience on a hilarious and enlightening anecdotal journey based around his move from London to Nigeria aged 10. Rather than confine the show to its central narrative, he explores a range of issues such as the evolution of the borough of Hackney. Social changes that have seen many a chicken and chips shop converted into a coffee house. His observational humour is not only well delivered; it is also, more importantly, well thought out.
Omotayo cites American Chris Rock as one of his inspirations, and the sharpness of his social critique combined with his laid back charismatic demeanor is reminiscent of the American. At times he lacked the urgency and increase of pace needed to jerk the audience out of their slumber, but for the most part his wide-ranging material provided a welcome distraction from the heat. Mild-mannered and affable, Omotayo is a man who you want to laugh with, as well as learn from.
Reviewed by Shingi Mararike for the News Academy