The "are-women-funny?" debate has probably raged since Eve told Adam a joke and embarrassed Cain and Abel. But at the moment female humour is clearly in rude health. Writer/performer Sharon Horgan was BAFTA-nominated, Geordie Sarah Millican recently received a prestigious Barry Award nomination in Australia and the American Janeane Garofalo has just announced an eagerly anticipated Bloomsbury Theatre date in September.
And at the Bloomsbury on Saturday Lucy Porter confirmed that women can obviously be as witty as men. In fact, it was male support Paddy Lennox who trotted out clichéd patter about cats and dogs and midlife crises. It was left to the pocket-sized flirty, thirtysomething to give the gig an air of authority.
The Bare Necessities is a pertinent pot-pourri of anecdotes based around the notion that the best things in life are free. Her proof of this is the observation that some of her happiest days were when she flat-shared with two impoverished junkies and had nothing. She is still happy now, living alone with her imaginary pet dog. Think of the savings on vet bills.
Porter’s skill shows in a chatty style that dips in and out of scripted material. One moment she was ad-libbing about clubbing in Russia, the next she was skewering Wags, suggesting that a better acronym would come from calling them Spouses, Lovers And Girlfriends. Her informality is winning, even if she tells her fans they are "lovely" way too often.
This set was written to put the boot into rampant materialism and while it is hardly the Marxist manifesto it feels relevant. If the economy is bust, Porter symbolises the fact that at least in female comedy there is a boom.
Lucy Porter comperes at Laughing Boy, NW1, Tuesday (07957 681301, www.laughingboycomedyclub.com)
Lucy Porter, Gareth Richards And Tom Deacon
Bloomsbury Theatre
15 Gordon Street, LONDON, WC1H 0AH
