It’s been a few years since I’d heard much from London Hughes. Then she, fairly innocently, joined the biggest conversation on social media (following a now infamous Dispatches documentary) and received an unwarranted level of backlash that caught the attention of anyone who has an interest in comedy. 

So, when I saw that she had a live gig at Bloomsbury theatre, I knew it would be fascinating, and probably very funny, to hear the take on that experience from a comedian on the rise, so I snapped up a ticket and headed down.

To my surprise the show that I got to see didn’t feature anything new, mostly relying on material that was at least 3 years old. What comedian doesn’t take a free opportunity to justifiably punch up, when they have personally been affected by the dominant entertainment story of the time?

London Hughes has had a fascinating life and her story will hopefully go from strength to strength as she continues to raise her profile in her new home of L.A. It was just such a shame to me that these stories came out during the on-stage Q&A, because the material there was so much more powerful than the night’s earlier stand-up.

This clown has found her audience and her routines very much play up to that crowd: it’s a smart career move and you can clearly see the impact that her new mentor (Kevin Hart) has had on her career – it’s volume over depth and take the low-brow laugh.

As she looks to follow the path recently trodden by Andi Osho, another award-winning black British comedian who has taken her talents to the big (and small) screen and featured in fantastic projects like ‘Shazam!’ and ‘The Sandman’. I wish London the very best of luck with her acting projects: with her irrepressible energy, they will surely be coming to a screen near you soon.

Clown Stars * * *

@Bloomsbury Theatre, London