With Romesh Ranganathan and more

There is a part of East London that is forever Nottingham – well, for the foreseeable at least. 

Nottingham Trent University recently opened a creative arts campus called Confetti in Whitechapel, which boasts a swanky venue called Metronome – the same as its East Midlands site – which now hosts Just The Tonic comedy nights, also just like home.

Romesh Ranganathan was the big-name booking for opening night, though rarely has the line: ‘I’m very excited to be here’ sounded more sarcastic. He’s got a reputation to maintain, after, all.

Yet he’s far more cheerful than the grouchy image  suggests, freely laughing at himself and the situations he describes and seemingly having great fun on stage, exposing the grumpiness as merely (or mostly) an act.

Describing a run-in with the awful Laurence Fox to get the ball rolling gets everyone on board, but he’s happy to play in less clear-cut territory, too. A big chunk of the set revolves around why he and wife Leesa should still be together after 15 years, given there’s been so many changes to themselves and their circumstances, and what would happen should they split. It’s not the sort of thing a happily-married couple – which he has to keep reminding us they are – should bring up in public, which is precisely what gives it the edge. And it’s a good job he maintains a cheerier demeanour when he discusses this, lest we read too much into it.

He ends the set by talking about his other great love, hip-hop, contrasting the modern rappers his son is into, and the old-school favourites he grew up with. It’s an observation Cardinal Burns made brilliantly in their sketch show, but bears repeating in a stand-up context and clearly comes from a place of truth. 

Though clearly the big-name draw, Ranganathan took the middle spot. The gig was skilfully compered by Sally-Ann Hayward, finding much to gossip about in one couple’s relationship, establishing a running drama throughout the night to keep the audience wanting to come back for more.

Her own hilarious material revolved around dating in her 50s, especially finding a proper working-class geezer at odds with her more well-mannered demeanour. It’s only a veneer, mind, as her comedy is variously filthy and mean, but delivered with such butter-wouldn’t-melt charm as to give it extra impact. 

As an proudly down-to-earth Brummie, opening act Lindsey Santoro was a lot more direct with her grubby jokes, apparently having no filter as she goes into vivid detail about having a smear test, for example. The idea that any of this makes people – men – feel uncomfortable only spurs her on into getting ever-more graphic.

She delivers it all with energy and the sense she’s being spontaneous in sharing these indiscretions – so even if some of the gags err on the basic side, the unabashed directness proves very appealing.

The unenviable task of closing the gig after Ranganathan fell upon Paul McCaffrey, who seems slightly off-form with a couple of mistold jokes. However, the flubs don’t derail the gig, as he’s professional and personable enough to keep things moving. 

He’s a journeyman more than a genius, though, and neither his everyman persona nor his broad observational material – on the likes of drinking too much over lockdown and the misery of being on a cruise – stand out, however effectively delivered.  Yet he’s probably the very definition of a safe pair of hands, for both the good and bad implications that adjective, ‘safe’, carries when it comes to stand-up.

Just The Tonic have tried to launch in London before, most notably in the former Camden Jongleurs. But with an excellent theatre-style venue and some top names booked for the weeks ahead, all the signs are good for this new Whitechapel home.

• Just The Tonic will be at Metronome in Whitechapel every Saturday. Forthcoming acts include Sara Pascoe, Lou Sanders Paul Sinha, Spencer Jones, Gary Delaney and more. Listings.

Review date: 30 Sep 2024
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Metronome London