Comedian Ian Stone proudly wears his ranking as one of ‘the top ten stand-ups in Britain’ today, and I have to say it is rightly deserved. Stone is a seasoned act and comedy writer, having penned gags for the likes of Omid Djalili, ITV1’s The Sketch Show and Alistair McGowan’s Big Impression. So it was of no surprise to see the Udderbelly filled with a huge number of Stone followers eager to see him once again.
The Return of Stoney Baloney is a topical nights stand up covering everything from the Olympics to Islamic extremism. Stone understands how to interpret the mood of an audience and play with it; touching on humour in the ‘is it too soon?’ or ‘too far?’ category that more often than not results in an intake of breath, followed by riotous laughter. The coalition government featured heavily in the set, as did the Mayoral election, yet although Stone is vocal and opinionated in these matters it is never preachy and he always knows how to turn the most political of statements into utter silliness.
This is laid back comedy with big belly laughs. Stone is a master of observational comedy and has cracked the perfect balance of interaction and material, its mathematical, but as a result the audience are wholeheartedly engaged and more than that are actively involved in the show. Stone somehow spotlights those in the audience he speaks direct to, and manages to tease out laughs from the things that they say effortlessly. Luck has nothing to do with the outcome of these situations, behind his glasses he must scan the audience and spot the comedy potential with some sort of comic sixth sense!
Ian Stone is intelligent and likable and has the audience in the palm of hand from the second he steps on stage. This is the type of comedy that leaves you giddy and on the highest high, the man is a genius and after seeing him last night I totally understand why the punters were returning for a second dose.
