His career started in 2004, when he won the Laughing Horse new act competition, and the following year he was nominated for best newcomer in the Chortle awards.
Review from the Suffolk festival
Offering an astute analysis of the British psyche, Russell Kane comments on our ‘all or nothing’ attitude: emotionally repressed then getting roaring drunk, for example.
Moderation isn’t his style either, as hyperactive a toddler on Red Bull, pacing the Latitude stage and striking theatrical poses, as is his wont. The content, too, is big cartoonish stereotypes. From his vantage point of working-class boy turned middle-class ponce, he gets as much capital as always from mimicking both sides. On one, his ‘council-estate-tag-on-the-ankle’ family, on the other, fey, delicate young snowflakes fainting in shock at the slightest perceived offence.
He says he enjoys the multigenerational audience a festival tent draws, mocking every age group equally. However, he doesn’t seek to divide, letting slip the pragmatic reasoning behind many a stand-up’s plea for unity: ‘United rooms are good for comedy.’
The message, rather, is that every generation has its mores that are incomprehensible to others. ‘It’s the job of the young to irritate the old,’ he notes.
There’s plenty of playful scorn for the frivolous and the approval-seekers: middle-aged would-be Instagram influences, for example, or other social media cynically seeking likes. The hypocrisy of a comedian calling this out is acknowledged – Kane gets the criticism in before anyone else can.
He claims he ‘hates politics until it becomes funny’ – which means the likes of Liz Truss and Boris Johnson give him plenty of fodder. And returning to the national character, he has a detailed, vivid story of holidaying Brits being too drunk to fuck, which takes a familiar trope and brings it to life with detail and the compelling vigour of his performance.
There’s barely time for him to touch on his hardcore Ukrainian grandfather, defiant in the face of Covid lockdown, but Kane still packs about two shows’ worth of content into his 45 minutes on stage.
Published: 22 Jul 2023
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1/05/2016
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18/07/2015
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23/08/2014
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11/03/2014
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22/07/2013
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31/10/2012
Russell Kane has a way of heading off criticism. By…
27/08/2011
Montreal Just For Laughs 2011: One-Stop World Tour
Seems like the Just For Laughs Festival is closing…
28/07/2011
Russell Kane: Smokescreens & Castles
This is the show when Russell Kane finally comes of…
25/08/2010
Russell Kane: Human Dressage - Fringe 2009
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24/08/2009
Russell Kane's Fakespeare: The Tragikal Saveings of King Nigel - Fringe 2009
Gadzooks! The idea ‘tis as obvious as Alan Carr’s…
7/08/2009
Russell Kane is an exceptional comedian, his pace is…
1/01/2008
DAY FIVEAn outdoor comedy festival with Pimm’s on…
1/01/2008
Russell Kane: Easy Cliche And Tired Stereotype
Easy cliché and tired stereotype? Sounds like a line…
1/08/2007
Russell Kane – Original Review
Russell Kane almost visibly fizzes with nervy, bubbly…
17/09/2006
Russell Kane\'s Theory of Pretension
Review
Russell Kane is an impressive comedy…
1/08/2006
Laughing Horse New Act Final 2004
Another day, another new act final. The evening after…
1/03/2004
Book (2019)
Son Of A Silverback
Book (2012)
The Humorist, by Russell Kane
DVD (2011)
Russell Kane: Smokescreens and Castles
Russell Kane Presents Fakespeare: The Lamentable Tragedie Of Yates's Wine Lodge
Closure of Craig Solly: A Dark Monologue by Russell Kane
Russell Kane: The Kaneing Podcast
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