one4review | On 12, Aug 2026

I’d heard things about Andrew White: whisperings of quality and a rising talent, and I’d had a brief impression from when he was a guest in another show. So I was open to being impressed, willing to be won round without too much effort, despite the fact that traditional stand up doesn’t tend to be my bag. And…it was fine, good even. But not stand-out.

For the first twenty-ish minutes. Which were apparently a warm up, a gentle way to ease us in, soften us up before the gloves are off and he dropped us onto a roller-coaster of heartbreak and affirmation, a celebration of life and a tribute to people Andrew has lost. It is heartbreaking and life-affirming, and really bloody funny. There’s a lot of craft in this show, a lot of very technical comedy work, but White’s performance is so light touch that it’s imperceptible. A lot of careful and well-planned breadcrumbs are dropped in preparation for an uproarious punchline that comes when you least expect it, and which is only one of many.

Comedy shows don’t often leave their audience in tears, but the ones in this show aren’t entirely sad: there’s a catharsis here, and, that celebration of life and the good things in it. Andrew takes things that would seem to be sad, or annoying, or, indeed, hack, and reframes them so we can see the positives (and achieve a punchline!). This is an accomplished performer, with exquisite comic sensibility and flair for storytelling, and the whisperings of quality were not, in fact, incorrect.

Reviewed by Laura
Cabaret Voltaire 2 @ Monkey Barrel Comedy
Until 30th (not 18th)