Live Review: Michael Che, Soho Theatre

Michael Che

I’m slightly ashamed to say this. It feels utterly politically incorrect. But the only comedian I can compare Michael Che to is Hannibal Buress. Like Buress, Che is a young, black American rising star who writes for TV and made a bit of a splash at the Edinburgh Fringe on their first UK visit. Both talk about rap and sex among other things in a laid-back, relaxed, intelligent style. Of course there are non-black comics that have followed the same trajectory and cover the same waterfront, but, apologies, the overlap here was quite striking.

And the comparison is meant as a compliment, but let’s stick to reviewing Che here. In his current show entitled Cartoon Violence, the lean Manhattanite walks on, Jack Daniels in his hand, baseball cap on his head and has the audience pretty much enthralled for an hour. Talking slowly and leaving lots of gaps it looks like he isn’t making much effort and is trying to pad things out. But don't be fooled. Che is working really hard. And it pays off.

He is clearly a lot sharper than he lets on. He says that he knows nothing about politics, but then proceeds to dissect America’s economic problems in a nutshell before going on to offer solutions to other world ills. He portrays himself as a slacker who, at 30, has only just started growing up enough to drink drinks not mentioned in Jay-Z lyrics. But if he has only just grown up he has clearly been making up for lost time. He is obviously a fast learner, he has only been doing stand-up for three years. Besides, you don't get to work on Saturday Night Live or The Daily Show without being a smart cookie.

It would be easy to point to the material that feels less original. On sexting he wonders if it went on in the olden days with box cameras and envelopes. Then there’s the creaky trope of what men think of to last longer during sex and a routine on the ubiquitous Tinder. And, of course he touches on the pervasiveness of internet porn, as is mandatory in contemporary stand-up: “A $9 billion industry and I’m the only one using it?” As a critic I sneered, but as a comedy fan I couldn’t help laughing.

Che is still pretty young, which makes one wonder where he will be in a decade. Will he succumb to movies? Will he have his own sitcom? Possibly both. But I hope he sticks to stand-up too. There is both style and substance here in abundance. Go see.

Michael Che is at the Soho Theatre until June 1. Details here.

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