I have to admit that Chris McCausland was not a familiar name to me until last year’s Strictly Come Dancing. And in his show Yonks, he fully acknowledges the irony that despite 20+ years of hard graft on the comedy circuit, he’s now best known for dancing.
But hey, he’s not knocking it; that newfound fame has led to multiple extra dates being added to his Yonks tour, many of which have sold out. In the case of the Rose Theatre in Kingston, where I saw the show, two additional dates were added, likely because Chris McCausland is a local and the Kingston demographic probably includes a lot of Strictly viewers.
Saying that, the Chris McCausland stand-up is quite different to Strictly Chris. Without BBC restrictions, his comedy covers subjects including a rectal examination, a very non-PC joke about the regulars in his local pub and an anecdote about dick-swinging with Brian Conley. Not uncommon ground for stand-ups, and it all went down pretty well at the Rose, though I wonder what some Strictly viewers make of this version of the emotional blind comedian they voted to lift the Glitterball trophy.
The fact that Chris McCausland is blind is barely a factor in his comedy. He’s escorted on and off the stage and once in position, he moves between his stool and standing up. If it wasn’t for the occasional self-deprecating joke about his disability (and his Strictly fame), I think I could easily have watched the whole show and not known.
And it’s a very funny show. Chris McCausland exudes confidence. He knows his jokes are funny. He knows he’s going to get laughs. So the audience is relaxed too and waiting to enjoy the next punchline.
Of course, the one thing that’s missing is audience interaction. At most stand-up gigs, the people in the front couple of rows become part of the show. Chris McCausland is looking out into complete darkness, so he has no idea who is in any of the rows. It sounds terrifying, but maybe it actually helps with his confidence.
And he does have some idea of the type of audience he’s going out to, as he has a great warm-up act, Jon Long. Long is a quirky musical comedian who came on stage with a guitar around his neck and worked the crowd with interactions and jokes. He said he was testing the water for Chris to learn what was acceptable in Kingston, though I’m not sure anything would have changed as a result.
Early in the show, Chris McCausland paints a picture of himself as being a little shit at school when the most common words on his report card were “potential” and “however”. It’s a funny joke, and if it’s true, then the joke is on his teachers, because Chris McCausland has definitely fulfilled his potential.
The final Yonks show at the Rose Theatre is on Friday 20 June, but it is also still touring other venues around the UK. You can find the details on Chris McCausland’s website.
For more reviews of theatre, comedy shows and art exhibitions, visit the Arts section of my blog.