By Kathleen Walker

ÔÿàÔÿàÔÿàÔÿà

ThereÔÇÖs a lot of ÔÇÿladsÔÇÖ on the comedy scene, but thankfully, Ivo Graham is not one of them.┬áAs he openly admits, heÔÇÖs an apologetic old-Etonian pupil, but thereÔÇÖs more to Ivo than his┬áupper-crust voice would initially have you believe. Yes, he also went to Oxford, but he┬áearned his comedy stripes from the age of 18 doing stand-up, before becoming the youngest┬áwinner of the So You Think YouÔÇÖre Funny award at the Edinburgh Fringe less than a year later. If youÔÇÖve been living under a comedic sized rock, youÔÇÖll have missed Ivo in the line up of Mock the Week, Live at the Apollo, Comedy CentralÔÇÖs Roast Battle and Hypothetical┬áamongst numerous Dave shows, to name just a few. But itÔÇÖs not often you get to see the┬áslightly more relaxed Ivo, where the politeness remains, but the fun really starts.

ItÔÇÖs refreshing to see someone comfortable enough with an audience that they will spend their┬áentire first act chatting directly to the audience and actively engaging them in witty dialogue┬árather than simply utilising them to further their own agenda. He is genuinely interested in┬áhearing about and conversing with others, as he assesses the room. Thursday night at the Glee┬áClub was a real mixture of people in the audience, but it was worth IvoÔÇÖs efforts. A gentleman in the front row happened to mention wooing his fianc├® using ÔÇÿGangnam StyleÔÇÖ and guess what was instantly added to the interval playlist?… much to all our collective┬áenjoyment.

Ivo guided us through the big decisions and moments in his life over the last year. Starting┬áwith his self-confessed highlight of 2018, getting to be in the driverÔÇÖs carriage of a Chiltern┬áRailways train, through to moving in with his girlfriend, now fianc├® (spoiler alert!) and┬ásubsequent fatherhood. However, itÔÇÖs not a slideshow, but a charming insight into angsts,┬ádoubts and worries that we will all have growing up, winning the audience over in shared experience. One of my highlights was the equality discussion about Thomas and Friends, which whilst not as good as the original series or the books (all agreed on that!), is at least┬ánow more diverse and a representative of now, leading to one of the best versions of┬á#MeToo, but I will not ruin that pun ÔÇô head to see the tour if you want to uncover that gem┬áamongst others!

This thoughtful comedian has spent a lot of time pondering his life and six-year relationship, considering the steps that scare all of us along the way and advising how maybe to handle┬áthem, or not in some instances ÔÇô his proposal story is another one to go and see the show for!┬áYou might think that if you didnÔÇÖt go to an all-boys boarding school, then you would have┬ánothing in common with Ivo, but you are wrong. It doesnÔÇÖt matter what background you are
from, moving into adult life is scary and fraught with dimensions you never expected. His┬ácleverness shines through in how he engages and threads his thoughts throughout the show to┬ádeliver a masterful finish resulting in the audience leaving to the Abba classic ÔÇÿFernandoÔÇÖ ÔÇô┬ánow youÔÇÖre even more intrigued! One minute youÔÇÖre at university enjoying single life, then┬áyouÔÇÖre figuring out what kind of adult you want to become, before working out your own version of settling down and what shape that takes. ItÔÇÖs not always straightforward and Ivo makes you feel alright about that ÔÇô recognising weÔÇÖre all a bit weird, as he discovered in┬áparticular by chatting with the audience, is part of the fun of life. Whether itÔÇÖs babysitting┬ákids and getting stuck at a Go Ape adventure park or buying a fridge for your new flat, IvoÔÇÖs┬ágot stories to tell that we can all relate to.

It will be great to see where his next show about his newly discovered role as a parent takes
us!