Review: IKECHUKWU UFOMADU: AMUSEMENTS, Soho Theatre

“Is this a wizard who stands before us?”

Walking into the Soho Theatre Downstairs for Ikechukwu Ufomadu: Amusements, you are greeted by jazz music, making the space feel more like a cabaret than a house of comedy. Indeed, when Ufomadu walks onto the stage, he doesn't fit the typical comedian vibe - he does not introduce himself from behind the curtains, instead slowly wandering up to the microphone and sipping tea from a mug. Before speaking, he reads over his notes and adjusts the microphone stand, ignoring the audience in front of him. 

Ufomadu is “hard at work playing a comedian,” ensuring us that he is simply using humour as a part of his job, fulfilling his end of the contract between the comedian and the audience. But, he is also striving to do his best, working on being “relatable, likable and unique.” When Ufomadu introduces himself, he has to read his name off of his notes, struggling to pronounce his own name to laughs from the audience before telling us his birth sign, birth President, and birth political scandal. 

From the minute he begins speaking, Ufomadu takes a serious approach, having the audience give a collective “woo” before giving a dramatic speech about the importance of unifying over the “woo” with a hilarious Kennedy impression. One might even argue that Ufomadu’s standup isn’t even comedy, as it turns the genre on its head, making a serious presentation that includes a dramatic reading of Moby Dick and a dramatic speech in Michael Caine fashion about how he, the performer, should be clapping for the audience, not the other way around. 

Ufomadu makes it clear that he has come from the audience and still relates to us, even coming down from the stage and sitting at one of the tables and telling us that he misses the “camaraderie” established by being a part of an audience. In another moment, Ufomadu observes that most people on stage will ask for volunteers to help them, but instead, he decides to ask the audience if any of them needed a volunteer, assisting someone in the back row in finding some rings that they had lost. 

My favourite parts of Ikechukwu Ufomadu: Amusements were the absolutely stupid puns, ones that Ufomadu turns into minutes-long jokes without killing the laughter. These included him asking the audience, “Is it okay if I do a number for you?” before simply singing the first word from A Chorus Line’s “One” - “one.” Another section, in which Ufomadu reads a bit of Shakespeare, consists of him calling Shakespeare “The Shakespeare of his day” before spouting complete nonsense for the next minute or two. But, he’s also quite good at improv, quickly coming up with a clever “The Long and Winding Road” parody about the microphone cord, singing as he went back on stage after assisting the audience member in finding their rings. 

One of the highlights of the show is its final sequence, in which Ufomadu reads out some FAQs - “Frequently asked questions,” or, in other words, “Questions that are frequently asked.” There are some general questions, like “‘Sup?” and “What time is it?” that have surprisingly hilarious answers, but then we get some expectedly absurd ones including a Shakespearean quote, genuine career advice and the entirety of “Do You Hear What I Hear?”

Ikechukwu Ufomadu: Amusements is an absurdly brilliant hour of comedy that subverts every expectation one may have of a typical American standup comedian. It’s a dumb yet hilarious type of comedy in which Ufomadu takes the most mundane things and turns them into funny moments, a rare talent that deserves more recognition. 

Ikechukwu Ufomadu: Amusements runs until  2 March 2024 at Soho Theatre.

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