Chris McCausland
The most I’ve laughed in “yonks”!
Theatre Royal
Comedian and Strictly Come Dancing winner Chris McCausland had the Norwich Theatre Royal in fits of laughter. The BAFTA winning comedian performed to a sold out audience of all ages at the weekend on this leg of his tour. He kicked off his show “Yonks!” with a joke about how he has been in comedy for 22 years but now people know him best for dancing. The way he delivered the longer jokes was outstanding, with witty comments such as “you know it's a long joke when I’m not even following anymore”, and “stay with me it gets funny in a minute”. He also made jokes about Norwich itself, which I liked as it shows he has researched the area and made the show unique. While telling these jokes even he was chuckling to himself, which made me feel connected to him.
McCausland has the rare ability to make a large venue feel intimate, as many of his jokes felt almost conversational, like the type of story you would tell at the pub. My favourite part of the show was McCausland's “personal moment”, which he suggested was key in any stand up show. This was the perfect mix of serious and hilarious – he highlighted to the men in the audience the importance of getting their prostate checked sooner rather than later (along with an anecdote of when he did, which saw the audience crying with laughter). I think the script was perfectly tailored to the diverse audience McCausland knows he has.The jokes ranged from things from his childhood in the 80’s to AI and technology, so there were jokes for everyone.
The thing I liked most about his performance was his jokes about being blind, and the fact he can see the funny side of it. Even him talking about trying and failing to complete mundane every day tasks had the crowd in hysterics. Such jokes were drip fed throughout the show adding layers to the already sensational comedy. McCausland also mentioned his time on Strictly with professional dancer Dianne Buswell, and that he had done over 500 hours of training across 4 months. So now sitting on a stool and talking for 2 hours is a breeze.
Overall the show was sensational, with cleverly written jokes executed perfectly. McCausland is touring the UK until the end of May, and said he will be back in Norwich at the end of 2027.
