Comedian Martin Urbano will be performing his comedy hour “Martin Urbano: Apology Comeback Tour” at the Soho Theatre until January 20.
It seems like every few months there is a new scandal involving a veteran comedian who everybody knew was a creep finally actually being exposed for being a creep.
Then everybody says the comedy world “needs to change” and nobody does anything about it.
Then, a year later, that same creep goes on tour to sold out arenas of adoring fans who bemoan “cancel culture” and say his victims just wanted attention, and the cycle starts all over again.
Martin Urbano: Apology Comeback Tour skewers this phenomenon with the perfect balance of tongue in cheek wit and shock value jokes, bringing the audience into his twisted sense of humour while poking deep fun at the men he is impersonating on stage.
For an hour, Urbano, a nominee for the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe Best Newcomer, plays a comedian who has been accused of the absolute gamut of crimes, and throughout his hour offers up his “defence.”
I usually don’t love this type of schtick.
I find most comedians who play at “edgy” either end up showing themselves to actually be as depraved and unlikeable as their “character” (see: Ricky Gervais), or spend most of their act pontificating on how great they are for knowing that other people have done bad things.
Urbano manages to never fall into either of these pitfalls.
He pokes merciless fun at the comedians who shamelessly return to the stage after a brief stint at “cancellation,” while also turning on the audience, calling for them to clap for his return and to boo the women who tried to cancel him.
His jokes are fast paced and brutal.
A favourite of mine being about how he was inspired by the women’s march because there were so many different types of women there.
Ones through Tens.
And, how he wants to reform his ways so that he won’t let down his unborn children, and his unborn wife.
If you need a respite from the seemingly never ending stream of comedians with dodgy pasts and exposés, or if you just want a really good laugh, Urbano is your guy.
His show is at the Soho Theatre until Saturday January 20th.
