Ayoade Bamgboye @ Pleasance Courtyard
Swings and Roundabouts is an impressive, shapeshifting first hour from a future star of British comedy
Who is the real Ayoade Bamgboye? This is the question audiences must ponder as they exit, agog, from her sold-out debut show at the Pleasance. A kilt-wearing Nigerian princess, a self-confessed “minor deity”, a narcissistic attention seeker? Or a London-born fan of supermarket confrontations, pondering the meaning of life in Big Asda? In the first five minutes we encounter several different accents, none of which ever settle as her authentic voice – whatever that means.
In this breathless hour of crowd interaction, game show quizzes, and reflections on mortality, we see many sides to Bamgboye. One thing we can say with certainty is that she has the type of steady, deadpan delivery which leaves audiences gasping for breath even when she has simply repeated someone’s name. She has a fearless, aggressive stance, frequently breaking the fourth wall to tell us what’s going through her mind as she’s building up to a punchline. But there’s an edge to her surreal, hyper-aware material that tells us that no matter how mercilessly she might pick on some crowd members, she also has an eye firmly on her own frailties.
It’s when she moves into the real heart of her show, pondering the death of her father and how life can continue after loss, that Bamgboye shows her true colours. She may have a harsh exterior, but one suspects that at least some of her more florid reflections on her own great abilities are all part of the act. She also has an extraordinary ability to work crowd-sourced material into her act again and again.
Whoever she may be, Ayoade Bamgboye leaves her audience reflecting on whether they might have just seen a future star of British comedy.
Ayoade Bamgboye: Swings and Roundabouts, Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker One), until 24 Aug, 4.45pm, returns only