Review by Graeme Connelly

Jeff Leach has a Keith Richards-like ability to seem to move constantly, he almost dances about the stage. But he improvises far more with a mic than Keith ever did with a guitar, and the big laughs he gets are from these moments of spontaneous wizardry. 

Leach talks about depression, feminism and fitness. He probably had some more planned but spent a third of the show chatting to/up the audience. These moments of interaction were definitely the highlights, with him running on and off stage and regularly touching his chest and the chests of others. He also touched, more figuratively, on Gaza, using his platform to do some worldly good and lend a topical feel to the proceedings.

Tired-out material is interspersed with brilliant improvised one-man sketches where Leach gets himself into all sorts of wonderfully funny trouble. He is a changed man, he says, preferring jogging to partying. Preferring feminism to misogyny and acutely aware of sexism all around him. He backs this up with habitually referring to women in the audience as beautiful girls. His chats with the crowd prove to be the most impressive of his comedic skills.

Serious sometimes, Leach broaches unfunny subjects with levity. This is well-accepted by his audience, thanks to the hard work he does to soften them up before bringing up such topics such as depression and the stigma attached. He handles this with real sensitivity and it proves very endearing. He also discusses our perceptions of disabled people, drawing from his own experiences. Again difficult things to talk about are viewed with a humorous, but not hilarious light.

It is a worthy and welcome feature of a man’s character to spend any time he gets in the limelight promoting good in others. Leach is to be commended for that. He gets his views across in an entertaining way and his views feel like worthy ones.

Flamboyant and animated, Leach is full of life and brings a presence with him. He fills the space completely and demands attention. That attention isn’t always rewarded with fantastic jokes, however.

Review date: 23 Aug 2014
Reviewed by: Graeme Connelly
Reviewed at: Laughing Horse @ The Counting House