25th February 2022
Boy, does it feel great to be covering pop culture for Doncopolitan again. It’s been two and a half years since I reviewed Al Murray at the Doncaster Dome, so there is a pleasing circularity to finding myself back in that glorified netball court for a gig from another comedy icon – this time in the shape of critically acclaimed bad bitch Katherine Ryan.
Fresh from writing a lockdown book and releasing her well received Netflix series The Duchess, Ryan glides on stage looking for all the world like a Disney princess who could also drink anyone in the room under the table – resplendent in a flowing green dress and matching tiara. Following a quick acknowledgement that it’s great to be back on the stage, the Canadian performer launches into an extended riff on relationships and femininity with a swagger befitting a comedy star of her standing. Her years living in England stand her in good stead with a UK audience, allowing her to pull off a continually hilarious impression of her Canadian husband being unable to understand anyone in Britain despite the fact that he obviously speaks English (“what country is that person from?”… “they’re from Leeds”) whilst simultaneously using the phrase ‘tits up’. Quite the balancing act.
Some of the night’s best moments come from Ryan’s quick wit and audience interaction, at one point she questions whether anyone in the crowd would admit to being a straight, white male and when one unfortunate chap raises his hand and reveals his name is Rich, Ryan’s stinging rebuke of ‘of course you’re rich’ invites one of the biggest laughs of the night. Having made the point that after years of various minorities being the butt of the joke it is now the turn of straight, white men to incur some ridicule, Ryan gleefully does just that, but crucially, in a way that always feels inclusive. This is comedy done right. Much of the material is about as far from woke as a mainstream comedian can be (particularly a section on her sister’s choice to be wary of the Covid vaccine), and her more political stuff always feels closer to common sense rather than anything tribal.
But we’re not here for any of that. Or not exclusively anyway. When you go and see Katherine Ryan, it’s because you want to see her onstage, taking no prisoners and mixing self-deprecation with a razor-sharp wit. An impromptu Q & A later in the set reveals that the aforementioned Rich works as a fish curator for The Deep in Hull (prompting Ryan pretending to be a shark: ‘No, please! I don’t want to go to Hull!’). This final section ensures that the whole evening ends on a slightly more intimate note as the former Mock the Week star fields questions about her shoes, her family and whether Jimmy Carr actually laughs like that in real life (he does, apparently).
And so, after an evening in which the Doncaster audience are enraptured, Katherine Ryan elegantly waltzes offstage just as she entered. Wife. Mother. Indeed, a Missus (as the show’s title proclaims), but most importantly, a shit hot comedian. We’re lucky to have her.
This article was written for Doncopolitan magazine: