Entering stiffly, adorned in a tuxedo and slip-on trainers, it’s a long and awkward minute before Ufomadu even addresses the crowd, but those who were hoping that the strangeness ended there were going to be in for a disappointment.
Ufomadu seems to relish the unexpected, the strange and the slightly uncomfortable. Proclaiming his love of enunciation, reading excerpts from Moby Dick, and providing a jazz rendition of the alphabet are but a few of the oddities that Ufomadu deploys to excellent comedic effect. Adopting accents, using extended eye contact, and generally laying up joke and anti-joke relentlessly, he has (most of) the audience gasping for breath as they try to keep up.
His commitment to "the bit" is exceptional, willing to prolong a joke far beyond what most comedians would deem acceptable - but the audience was most definitely on board. A particularly extended bit around the number two, and an even longer rendition of ‘Do you Hear What I Hear?’ absolutely should not have worked, but Ike’s charm, stage presence and sense of timing had the audience like putty.
Perhaps most impressive though, was Ufomadu's response to a question from an audience member (to be, or not to be?), which resulted in the delivery of the whole famous Hamlet. And I mean the whole thing. As I mentioned, his commitment to "the bit" is unwavering. Obviously this resulted in an extended round of applause.
Ike Ufomadu is already Emmy-nominated, and well known as an actor. Given the success of his Edinburgh debut, I strongly suggest you see him quickly, before he becomes a huge name in comedy too.
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