Shut Up Bastard

From Dave's One Night Stand

More Stephen K Amos videos

A circuit stalwart, Stephen K Amos made his Edinburgh debut in 2001, returned in 2003, and has performed there every year since. He has also appeared the Melbourne Comedy Festival every year from 2006 to 2009.

Amos has also acted in a number of dramatic plays at the Fringe, including One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest with Christian Slater in 2004 - which later transferred to the West End – and Talk Radio in 2006.

On TV, he has performed stand-up on Live at the Apollo and the 2007 Royal Variety Performance and appeared on several panel shows, including Have I Got News For You, Mock The Week, The Wright Stuff and Loose Women, where, in February 2009, he caused a stir by revealing that Prince Harry told him he 'didn't sound like a black chap’ after his appearance at a gig to celebrate Prince Charles's 60th birthday.

In 2007 Amos made an acclaimed Channel 4 documentary on homophobia in the black British community and in Jamaica, Batty Man. He is also in the cast of 2009 BBC Two sitcom In My Country, a multicultural show set in a run-down guest house.

In 2004, he won a Time Out award for comedy, and he has been nominated for the Chortle Award for best compere three times, in 2004, 2007 and 2008.

Ealing Comedy Festival 2011: Wednesday
Live Review

In a calendar packed with comedy festivals, Ealing’s has a relatively low profile. Yet its line-up is stellar, and it packs out a 1,000-seater marquee over five nights in a West London park - so it’s an event not to be ignored.

The festival reached its midway point in last night’s rain, with the ever-impressive Jarred Christmas compering. The Kiwi’s fast and emphatic delivery instantly establishes that he’s in charge, but he comes with such a cheeky, curious and endearingly playful attitude that means he’s never going to be serious authority figure. After all, he’s the sort of man-child who can say: ‘I was googling “ninja moves”...’ without any sense of self-consciousness, just part of another enthusiastically-told anecdote.

First of the acts is professional Northerner Paul Tonkinson, a favourite booking of this festival, with his wry commentary on married life and North vs South stereotypes. There are no great revelations, but it’s nicely observed and beautifully illustrated with a wide repertoire of subtly silly comedy voices. The man’s a one-man Simpsons cast as he brings to life the likes of his effete, sexually ambiguous ski instructor or a menacing South London laugh. At his best, he reduces a marital argument to meaningless sounds, prompting lots of chuckles of domestic recognition.

Fresh from Latitude come Ireland’s ‘seventh biggest hip-hop crew’ Abandoman, with their crowd-pleasing improvised raps; first the ‘What’s In Your Pocket’ routine, basing lyrics on items the audience hold up, then the made-up musical, composed around the circumstances of ‘Stoney’ – a London Underground escalator engineer plucked from the crowd. Rap purists might spot an overuse of filler line such as ‘that’s right/you know’ to make the rhymes fit, but the duo’s frontman Rob Broderick is quick-thinking and occasionally inspired in fusing ideas together.

Next up a ‘special guest who can’t be named’ – which used to mean comedy royalty, but these days can mean anyone who’s been on TV a bit and doesn’t want to hurt their forthcoming tour sales. Tonight it meant Lee Nelson, and I don’t think the demographic of the tent quite matched up with the demographic of the unbilled comedy chav’s BBC Three audience, given that mention of sidekick Omelette clearly didn’t receive the cheer he was expecting. In fact, there seemed some sluggishness in realising this excitable rude boy was a character. That, and the sheer size of this marquee, meant that some of his audience banter was robbed of its exciting piquancy, though Nelson’s creator Simon Brodkin is still as sharp as a tack.

There are some great jokes in his tales of casual sex and equally casual misogyny, although elsewhere, especially in his take on hosting the Olympics in East London, he treads on very cliched territory, not always with sharp enough writing to excuse it. And this is clearly a work in progress – as occasional glances at notes on a bar stool attest – so isn’t quite as fluent or concise at it could be. But Nelson’s still entertaining, with life in the old Burberry yet.

For our headliner, we leaping a few strata up the social scale, with the urbane Stephen K Amos. He hasn’t always been that way, however, and he gets much mileage out of his down-to-earth upbringing at the hands of his no-nonsense parents, and their catchphrase: ‘Shut up, bastard.’

The ‘back-in-my-day’ nostalgia, before iPods and mobiles, defines his attitude that the youth of today don’t know they are born. He even brings up a crew of teenagers to prove his point... and from the moment this segment starts, you know it’s going to be a countdown until the phrase ‘boy band’ is deployed. But however predictable the conclusion was, Amos’s forte is interacting with people (a facet his recent BBC Two show failed to exploit), and he created plenty of free-form fun along the way.

He ended the set with a couple of examples of racism directed his way, primarily from Australia, but he reacts not with fury, but with a charismatic roll of the eyes that anyone could be so dim. After all, Amos is nothing if not charming every moment he is on stage.

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Saw him in Norwich yesterday, very,very funny. His conments about Lowestoft were spot on. Very good interaction with the audience

James, May 2011

Fabulous night at the Lowry. Stephen was brilliant - far better than expected and I have to say his gig was much, much better that the Eddie Izzard gig I saw a couple of months ago. His set was full of energy, fan and yes, "The Feel Good Factor" too. A 17 year old baker in the audience was singled out for gentle teasing (never offensive, never uncomfortable) and at the end of the show he made a point of thanking him (and a few others) for their part in the show, and even encouraged him to see him after the show. It was a lovely warm gig with the whole audience involved. Fabulous, I can't sing his praises loud enough!

Sam Darnbrough, February 2010

Great show. So good live

sam, February 2010

Saw Stephen last night in Halifax. Excellent show from start to finish with great support from Seann Walsh (Pop & Crisps.... hey !) Left the audience with the feelgood factor with lots of laughter. Lad in the audience with the ambition to fly a kite a gift from the comedy gods. 10 out of 10.

David, October 2009

Here's a game you can play with your friends at the gig. take bets to see how many minutes it is before he does a racist gag (anti-white). You can play it at home too on any of the numerous comedy quizzes he is drafted on to. can also be expanded to the first minute anyone laughs

paul foreman, October 2009

I think the show is very very funny. I like the fact his whole show is not just about being black. I say this because I have seen him perform on two occasions. Once at hackney empire and again at choice comedy. The joke is that he is highlighting how dated some peoples views are by brining them up. He is able to laugh at himself and everyone else as well.

lozz, October 2009

I saw him in Edinburgh and was genuinely offended by his whole routine. For a black man who talks about colour and race so avidly, he's setting the race debate back 50 years. Everything about his act is outdated from the random, pitiful, sexist 'dance routine' to the constant accusations of racism towards his audience or indeed any non-black people. When is he going to learn that that is not funny, it's not true, it's boring and it's offensive. You're the racist, Stephen. Get some material or don't claim you've got a show.

Vicky J, August 2009

I think your are a breath of fresh air - funny witty and I can't wait to see you live.

paula, August 2009

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