The Chase funnyman Paul Sinha brings laughs at life to comedy club
The diagnosis of a debilitating illness isn't usually a subject which can make a comedy set.
However, when it's Paul Sinha, the subject of his Parkinson's diagnosis is one that he owns and talks about candidly and with a great deal of humour.
The comedian, quizzer and TV Chaser was in Stourbridge on Saturday night to perform the headline slot of Fitz of Laughter, the comedy club at Katie Fitzgerald's, and came equipped with a fun and raucously funny set.
From talking about how his dad made it very clear that he would be studying as a doctor at university, not a solicitor, to playing out his very first, and very risqué, first comedy set in 1995, the Sinhaman was on top form.
Stories about taking on right-wing columnist Giles Coren and Boris Johnson's sister Rachel on hit quiz show The Chase, how a friend of his told his mother he was gay and intending to do a speech about immigration at the Baftas, but instead saying he was drunk were lapped up by a sell-out audience at the popular comedy club.
Paul Sinha has a quick wit about him and a tremendous sense of timing and acknowledges that he has Parkinson's disease, but it doesn't define him and he will go on doing what he enjoys.
That translated to a fun evening for those in attendance, with Paul headlining two shows at the venue at 5pm and 8.30pm, both of which had sold out in anticipation of seeing the Sinhaman, as well as Jack Gleadow and Jo Enright.
Jo, from Erdington, opened the show with a charming set about having a child at 48 and growing up in Erdington, joking that a child she was sponsoring in Uganda asked her if she was living in a war zone.
Her set was a nice start to the evening, providing some laughs about spending money on pregnancy kits and having to explain why Santa was swearing at the Christmas lights switch on.
Sandwiched between was an energetic, silly and extremely funny set from Hull-born comedian Jack Gleadow, who combined fast quips with physical and musical comedy.
His take on life, from the difference between throwing away something in Primark compared to Argos and how men and women use Tinder, was fast and funny, while a continual gag with his flat cap produced laughs every time.
Anyone wanting to see more from Jack will be able to do so in the new year as he returns to Katie Fitzgerald's for his own one-man show, with the set he put on a great indicator of what people can expect.
