Jo Caulfield: Won't Shut Up! Review 2010

Seasoned comedienne, writer and Radio 4 presenter Jo Caulfield delivers a comfy, cosy performance to a familial crowd tonight at Glasgow’s Òran Mór. Despite warnings that her material was decidedly more acerbic than Radio 4 fluff, Caulfield only occasionally slips in the odd swear word and sexual re-enactment to add a bit of spice to an otherwise placid show.

With the hackneyed man-hating, youth-envying material, Caulfield plays the role of the scornful middle-aged woman adeptly, but by taking this well-worn path she plays it highly cautiously and eludes anything remotely cutting edge.

When she does shed this safety blanket, however, delving into local observations, the outcome is far more gratifying. Her professionalism is undeniable as she smoothly brushes off the less popular gags, but when she asks the audience to score her on a series of jokes the audience begin to drift and barely participate. A pleasant, enlivened show but after two hours, including a poorly received encore, the proof was definitely in the title.

Read our 2009 review of Jo Caulfield: Won't Shut Up!