Stephen K Amos: Now We’re Talking! review – convivial good fun keeps the laughter flowing

2026-02-01 - 12:56

Leicester Square theatre, London The veteran standup deconstructs the science of laughter before scrolling back to his youth and a 1970s brought pungently back to life ‘We’re here, folks, to laugh”, and “See? We’re laughing!” There’s a lot of this reflexive shtick at the start of Stephen K Amos’s touring show: lots of thinking aloud about laughter, and reminding us that’s what we’re here to do. One routine asks whether and why animals laugh, and another – all amygdala this and endorphins that – considers what laughter does to our brains. Yet another drolly explores the Venn diagram that unites the laugh, the orgasm and the sneeze. This all bespeaks a certain confidence from the veteran that his 75-minute offering will keep the laughter flowing. And it does, if not in the most adventurous way. Later in the show he tells us that Now We’re Talking! is a departure for him; “I wanted to be more honest.” But the show is notable not for the novelty of its thinking, or any sense that we’re being granted intimacies. Its hallmark is convivial, consensual good fun, in which Amos ventures orthodox opinions and relatable observations about a-changin’ times, social media and dumbed-down modernity. Continue reading...