Review of his stand-up special

‘The main difference between white people and Chinese people…’ says Phil Wang straight out of the gate, not pausing even to say ‘hello’ before launching into his opening bit. 

But don’t go expecting any hack material or edgy race-based content from this mild-mannered comedian, with a penchant for self-effacingly referring to himself in the third person. His observations are based purely on attitudes to leftover rice.

In a similar vein, he later dares tackle the N-word in rap lyrics and the concerns most non-black people have in singing along. His solution takes potential offence and makes it cosy, typical of a comedian so physically soft he confesses to injuring himself on bread.

Although nonchalantly delivered and far from provocative, the material is not tepid He has especially interesting and distinctive comments on growing up in Borneo, where even the adults believe in ghosts.

He obviously doesn’t go into as much detail as his recent book does on this topic, but the upbringing provides an outsider’s viewpoint even to material that doesn’t need it, such as his observations on British people saying ‘touch wood’.

That’s combined with a droll sense of humour presumably instilled from his later years in Bath and at Cambridge University. He sensibly sneers at travellers who want to shun ‘the touristy stuff’, then takes the cynicism to extremes when challenging his sister’s decision not to eat octopus as they are too intelligent.

Some of Wang’s material is a little more pedestrian, such as his dick-measuring routine, based on the flimsiest of premises, but he lends a touch of class to even this. Likewise, complaints about having to do everything himself when flying seem lightweight but end with a more distinctive payoff, calmly dismissing a task he doesn’t want to take on. It’s the closest the composed comic ever gets to snapping. 

With a knack for making a lot out of a little, Wang is an understatedly stylish comic. The candlelit atmosphere of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at Shakespeare’s Globe in London, where this special was filmed, suits him well.

• Phil Wang: Wang In There Baby is on Netflix from today.

Review date: 3 Sep 2024
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett