On being single

From Live At The Apollo 2011

More Andi Osho videos

Previously an actress who had appeared in the likes of Casualty, Doctors and Footballers' Wives, she won the Funny Women new act competition in 2007. She was also placed third in the 2008 Hackney Empire new act competition, and was a finalistin the 2008 Laughing Horse new act competition.

Andi Osho: Afroblighty
Live Review

Andi Osho is TV’s current go-to girl, booked on to just about every stand-up show going – even if such ubiquity means guilt by association on some programmes that might be best forgotten.

But left to her own devices, she’s produced a hugely assured Edinburgh debut; a nimble, fluid hour with heart and wit that shines with her upbeat charisma and expressive delivery. She’s charming, cheerful company, which keeps everything entertaining and more than covers the few occasions when the material dips.

There’s a brief bit of compere-style banter at the start of the show, which spreads an irresistible energy through the small room, followed by a few easy, almost formulaic, routines about the feckless youth of her native East London. But this material is merely to taxi the audience into position before the show proper takes off.

Through the prism of nostalgia, she recalls her youth at the turn of the Eighties: the childish noises she made to entertain herself, the shame of falling off her bike, and the not-so casual racism that would be levelled at her family.

She treats the issue not with anger, but as lightly as if it were any other source of observational comedy, thought the underlying importance gives it an extra edge as she talks of people denying their background for fear of it being used as a stick to beat them. Indeed, she admits to having anglicised her first name from the Nigerian Yewande.

There’s a slight hint of the clichéd ethnic comic of ‘Nigerian people do this…’ but again she makes it her own, by getting laughs from honest comment rather than simply a comedy foreign accent. And the themes of tolerance and redefining ‘political correctness’ as simply being nice to each other do not exactly come as a surprise.

But the show is greater than the sum of its parts, a thoroughly amusing package of personal reminiscences underpinned with an exceptionally warm and engaging delivery. And as the bow to tie it up, she bravely puts aside the comedy for a surprisingly touching beat poem about what multicultural Britain means to her. It’s a classy end to a classy show.

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Saw her last night, Walnut Tree Maidstone. She practiced her "Single Lady" Edinburgh fringe stuff on us. She ashamedly regularly referred to her iPad perched on a stool and she was brilliant. Machine gun rapid and sharp with fantastic facial expressions. Well worth seeing if you be in Edinburgh.

Graham Fearon, July 2011

It was a joy to see an act dominate a room with such graceful ease. Original material with an intelligent adult slant! The last time I saw such commanding presence was some bloke called Michael McIntyre way back in 2007. Wonder what happened to him?

Stephen Hobbs, December 2010

Great MC at High Wycombe yesterday - audience revved up nicely.

Paul Roff, November 2010

Andi opened at LaughterBox last Thursday - her name brought quite a few people in. I had lots of positive comments afterwards from the audience, saying she was "really funny" and "a real pro".

Cheryl Tucker, October 2010

Fresh air to British Comedy!

Daniel, September 2010

Fantastic comic! Seen her be great in big and small rooms. Very very funny!

Paul, October 2009

She is a very strong act. Always brings something new to her set every time I see her. She'll be a huge force in the future.

Steve Foster, August 2009

Excellent MC. Really warms up the audience and makes everyone feel really involved. I was an act at the Funny Women Awards showcase last night, and she really helped to warm up the audience before we came on which is a great help.

Anna, July 2009

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