Chris Ramsey: The Just To Get Out Of The House Tour, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury - review
Geordie comic Chris Ramsey performed to a near sell-out crowd in Shrewsbury's Theatre Severn on Wednesday evening, bringing laughter to the auditorium with his spin on everyday life as part of his 'Just Happy To Get Out Of The House Tour'.
His stock has risen since arriving on the comedy circuit just over ten years ago, which has been helped by numerous solo tours and appearances on hit TV shows such as Eight out of Ten Cats, Celebrity Juice and Stand Up Central.
He has visited Theatre Severn numerous times in recent years, and from the word go in Wednesday's show he struck up a personal connection with the audience, talking about his views on the town and the age old argument of what is the correct way to pronounce Shrewsbury.
The 31-year-old was always was joined by his fellow comedian Carl Hutchinson, who warmed the crowd up with a 20 minute show, before Ramsey came out from an inflatable house on stage to deliver his performance.
As most comedians do he set about chatting to the audience and talking about past experiences in Shrewsbury, a venue and a crowd you could tell the comic was very fond of.
His starter chat to the audience turned into a move that almost brought the house down.
He questioned a man near the front row who had been looking after his partner's three children, and after asking what his job was the man replied he was a store manager at Toys R Us in Meole Brace, which closed down causing a host of job losses.
Ramsey showed his genuine sympathy, jumped down in the audience to hug the man before asking a steward to bring him a pint of Guinness.
As the comic from South Shields moved onto his next joke, a steward appeared to deliver the drink to the man, with a round of applause echoing around the room.
For the next hour or so of the show Ramsey turned a subject that most people would regard as mundane and stretched it into a routine that had the audience laughing at every turn.
He spoke about how he and his wife Rosie met with a solicitor to write a will and from that one topic he meandered through a host of hilarious anecdotes of everyday life.
Like all comedians, Ramsey takes topics that wouldn't seem funny on the face of it and turn them into a hilarious routine, but he does it in a way some other comedians don't.
The informal way in which he comes to the stage and talks about stories makes his shows feel like you're sitting in the pub listening to our of your mates tell stories, rather than in a packed theatre.
His increased appearances on TV panel shows and other programmes as certainly lifted Ramsey's stock but he still enjoys life on the road, and by the look of it his visits to Shrewsbury.
