Bethany Black @ The Stand
A disjointed and difficult to follow hour, with no real big laughs
Bethany Black was recently diagnosed with agoraphobia and autism, as well as ADHD and OCD, so there’s a lot for her to contend with in an hour.
Black’s ADHD means that she struggles to maintain her focus throughout the show (something she herself alludes to) and she frequently gets distracted, often going off on tangents while she’s in the middle of a joke. This makes the hour quite disjointed and difficult to follow, as she frequently has to check the notes she’s made on the back of her hand to get the show back on track.
While Black does share some funny anecdotes, there are no real big laughs in the show, and they’re sorely missed. There’s a sense of restraint and tentativeness in Black’s delivery at times, which suggests an undue lack of confidence in her abilities. On the few occasions that this is stripped away, there are glimmers of genius in Black’s work, but they are sadly too few.
Considering the breadth of topics covered in Unwinnable, Black’s show should feel a lot more meaty, but instead it’s just a bit too thin.
Bethany Black: Unwinnable, The Stand Comedy Club (Stand 2), 2-26 Aug (not 13), 3.50pm, £8-10
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