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14-20 Oct 2017^ guide^38

She may have a great

ear for fi lth, but the

ostensibly upbeat Lucy

Porter (pictured) isn’t

the kind of comic you’d

expect to dwell on fury.

Anger is the theme of

her new show, however:

dealing with it in her roles

as a wife, mother, friend

and citizen (2 Feb to 20

Apr, tour starts Reading

South Street Arts Centre).

Porter’s writing has always

been dense with gags, and

her likable stage presence

makes them shine. The

start of Griff Rhys Jones’s

comedy career in the late

70s coincided with the

birth of UK standup as we

know it, but he’s never

been strongly associated

with live performance.

He’s now touring a show

rooted in his love of travel

(Cornerstone, Didcot, Tue;

Old Town Hall, Hemel

Hempstead, Wed; touring

to 29 Mar). Hyperactive

duo Pajama Men are

also seasoned travellers,

having come here from

the UFO heartland of New

Mexico. Their work is aptly

out of this world, with

clowning and absurd non

sequiturs. (The Witham,

Barnard Castle, Sat; The

Stand, Glasgow, Mon;

The Stand, Edinburgh,

Tue, West End Centre,

Aldershot, Thu; touring to

4 Nov) James Kettle

Booking now

The funniest thing Ellie White

The Windsors star and character
comic on the things that make her
laugh the most

The funniest item of clothing
I’ve ever owned My mum gave
me a red bonnet for Christmas
one year. It had three woollen
phalluses bouncing off the back.
She was really offended when
I didn’t wear it on Boxing Day.

The funniest standup I’ve
ever seen John Early. He’s
an American comic who can
literally say anything and I’m in
tears. Of laughter.

The funniest sketch I’ve ever seen
A sketch that Sheeps did in their
first show called Splay, where
Alastair Roberts played a man
whose organs are on the outside
of his body. Extraordinary.

The funniest book I’ve ever read
Cold Comfort Farm is genius.
I’m jealous of that book. Can
you be jealous of a book? I am.

The funniest TV show I’ve ever
seen Totally Scott-Lee. It was an
MTV reality show in the early
noughties about Lisa Scott-Lee of
Steps fame trying to relaunch her
solo career.

The funniest fi lm I’ve ever seen

Basil the Great Mouse Detective.

Really pushing the boundaries

of realism.

The funniest person I know

My friend Al Green. In a very

dark and sinister way. Will he

end up killing me? Maybe.

The funniest meal I’ve ever eaten

Big plate of grey rice.

The funniest hairstyle I’ve ever

had I was desperate to be trendy

when I started university, so I

tried to shave an undercut. But

I was a coward and shaved too

small a patch, so I just looked like

I’d been lobotomised.

The funniest dream I’ve ever had

I dreamed I had to identify my

brother’s body after a shooting.

When I got there, however, the

bodies were just fillets of salmon

wrapped in blue puffer jackets.

Dreams eh?! Absolutely wild.

The funniest joke I’ve ever heard

Q: What do you want for

Christmas?

A: A new bum, cos mine’s got

a crack in it

Ellie White performs at the Moth

Club, E9, Thu

comedy