Stephen Bailey @ Laughing Horse, The Three Sisters

Stephen Bailey’s show is a pleasure to behold. Often revelling in the outrageous, Bailey wins over the audience in record time with his light comedy touch and openness. This is a welcome sight for an audience who, from the get go, are on board for Bailey’s stories of a lacklustre love life and 'soon-to-be-celebrity' status. As Bailey proudly boasts, his star is on the rise having two credits on Channel 5, among others. 

Our Kid is less concerned with current affairs and more with identity, feelings of self-doubt and imposter syndrome. The comic declares his show a space free from the harsh realities of real life events and somewhere audiences can have a laugh for an hour. There are moments of levity still and stories of harassment on Twitter proving he is a part of the 21st century. Never heavy-handed nor afraid to prod and poke the audience, Bailey often surveys, looking for agreeing nods of heads in the hopes of ultimately creating an atmosphere in which everyone will feel some unifying connections. He is quick to relate this back to his own experiences, for the benefit of both performer and audience alike.

Bailey has the crowd in the palm of his hand from the word go, never losing control or letting the audience get the better of him. And his natural ability for storytelling makes each tale about a small town boy coming-of-age feel like the pages of Heat magazine.

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Stephen Bailey: Our Kid, Laughing Horse, The Free Sisters (Maggie's Front Room), 2-26 Aug, 5:15pm, Free

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