Comedy Review: Ahir Shah's Control

Ahir Shah: Control ★★★★★

By Lydia Manch Last edited 73 months ago

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Comedy Review: Ahir Shah's Control Ahir Shah: Control 5

Ahir Shah's new show deals with Brexit and Trump, with the rise of fascism across the world and the decline of kindness. Big tragic hypocrisies and insidious, personal ones. All the thorny stuff.

Fortunately Control is more than up to the task. It's true the lolz are frontloaded in the show. The final third becomes more reflective, the earlier mix of personal and political shifting in favour of the latter. It’s far from uneven, though. By the end of the show, Control is an equal mix of comedy and poetry, Shah's fired-up invective landing like Kate Tempest dropping bars. Control's not light-hearted — not remotely — but the energy of Shah's anger and defiance, and the deftness of his delivery keeps it buoyant.

Ahir Shah: Control, Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, Soho, W1D 3NE. Tickets from £9, 6-10 March 2018.

Last Updated 19 February 2018