Dana Alexander is the best known black female Canadian comedian but has moved to Tottenham in London. Her stand-up reflects her experience of living in both countries. Alexander spoke about Tottenham and her Jamaican roots with enthusiasm and drew upon stories of her family there as well as her life and family back in Canada. She did a very good job at impersonating members of her family to comic effect and her transition between both countries has resulted in some funny insights into the differences with British and North Americans and our opinions on the U.S.
There were moments of comedy and one-liners that had the audience in intense outbursts of laughter. It was strong moments like these that kept the audience engaged in her material. In addition she had a fearless and refreshing honesty about her.
Her material as a whole went down well with the crowd and she maintained good stage presence but on this occasion there was a lack of interaction between her and the small audience. This was a dynamic that felt very much needed for the evening to stand out. The absence of this left her material feeling a little rushed, which was culminated in her sharp exit from the stage at the end of the set.
If Alexander had meddled with the crowd and gone on a few tangents it may have lit up the venue a bit of atmosphere and made the material feel more natural. Maybe go and see Dana Alexander on a weekend, her performance will be better with a larger audience.
