On Friday 4th March I finally went to see Chris Ramsey on his (ironically named) 20/20 tour.
I first came across Chris Ramsey when he took part in 2019's Strictly Come Dancing. I love an underdog and great sense of humour and by the end of the series I had a new favourite Chris! (Oh, who am I kidding? Chris Evans is still my number one!)
I went to book tickets for his 20/20 tour and was disappointed to see that tickets for Dartford had already sold out. Undeterred, I decided a road trip to Oxford was in order and booked to see my new favourite comedian for spring 2020.
Fast forward a few months and as the entire country was under house arrest (aka lockdown), I started to receive the postponement and cancellation emails for all the concerts, gigs and shows I'd booked - I wouldn't be seeing Chris until the autumn (it may have even been the following spring - so many things were postponed, I lost track).
When it was postponed for a second (possibly third - who knows?!) time, I cancelled tickets for Oxford and managed to bag some tickets in the third row at Guildford which was much closer to home.
Having been able to see Chris and his wife Rosie at Wembley Arena on their Shagged Married Annoyed tour back in September, I was so excited to be able to see Chris solo in a smaller venue in the THIRD ROW! That's never a good spot for a comedy gig - I thought he was going to totally rip it out of me for eating banana bread out of my Tupperware.
Before I move on to the main event, I have to give a shout out to Carl Hutchinson. I'd heard about him many times through Chris and Rosie's podcast, but had never seen him live and I have to say that I was very impressed. He was incredibly funny, was incredibly relatable (my favourite kind of humour) and I would happily pay to see a whole show of him. His story about airport drinking had me in stitches and his surprise at our lack of judgement took me back to fond memories of my my uni days (I went to uni in Guildford).
After a short interval, Chris bounded onto the stage like an excitable Labrador. His first interaction with the audience was with a regular attendee who brings his guide dog along was was not only really touching but also led to some brilliant call backs later in the show (No one could get puppies during lockdown! How did you manage to get your new one, mate?)
It was impossible to start the show without acknowledging the fact that the tour was named after one of the crappiest years in recent history. Never again, he said! It certainly made for a talking point and allowed the elephant in the room to be broached in a natural way before ditching the pandemic for an evening of much needed humour.
I'm not going into detail about the show because that will spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet (I have no idea if it's been recorded and released at some point) but I can honestly say I can't remember the last time I laughed that much. At one point I was laughing so much that it actually hurt and I missed a chunk of what he was saying.
As I've already said, humour works for me when it's relatable and Chris' anecdotes about him, his family and friends we so funny because they were things that have happened (or will happen) to so many of us at some point. Without giving away the joke, Chris suffered embarrassment at the hands of his son in the non-soundproof confides of the swimming pool changing room. Just this morning, I found myself getting changed and overhearing conversations of families where their children can't grasp the concept that they can be overheard and I had to stifle my laughter at the memory of his story.
We've had two very difficult years and the news of recent times isn't easing up. It almost didn't feel right going to seeing a comedy show knowing that a war was happening in Ukraine, but I left the venue that evening feeling much lighter. For me, me comedy is a form of self-care and we're always advised to put on our own oxygen mask before helping anyone else with theirs. With that in mind, I prescribe a night of comedy to everyone - and if you get the chance to see Chris Ramsey (and Carl), even better!
