Review: The Laughter Factory with Glenn Wool, Jimmy McGhie and Nathan Caton

Regional comedy stalwarts The Laughter Factory have been on something of a winning streak of late, topping off this summer’s 18th anniversary by hosting some of their strongest bills in recent months.

The November line-up – which still has forthcoming gigs on Wednesday and Thursday (November 12, 13) – keeps up the high standard with a strong but mixed offering of three comics, topped off by an absolute knockout performance from Glenn Wool.

On opening night, at Dubai’s Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Beach on Thursday (November 6), the Canadian comedian closed the evening with a phenomenally assured, surreal set, veering from absurdist silliness to studied satire in seconds.

At times slightly twisted, much of his material’s content is utterly unprintable, dealing with his recent divorce, subsequent single life, and career failure with a refreshingly offbeat cynicism, black comedy at it’s best. What we can discuss, however, is Wool’s inimitable delivery, shocking screams and bellows juxtaposed by dramatic pauses, paced with a poet’s sense of rhythm.

Earlier in the evening there was a no less assured set from Jimmy McGhie, a Brit comic who describes himself as “a bit posh, but not proper posh”, but exploits the age rather than class divide, spinning off an impressive lengthy routine out of his disgust at fashionable young hipsters invading his formally scruffy South London suburb (Tooting, in case you were wondering).

Filling the tricky middle slot was Nathan Caton, who built a stage persona around the fact he lives at home with his parents, and his subsequently immature pastimes which include, amongst other things, bullying children. A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles T-shirt was the perfect prop for the act – although I was a little surprised to spot the comic sporting the same shirt offstage two days later.

The Laughter Factory's November bill is next in Dubai at Zinc, Crowne Plaza, Sheikh Zayed Road on Wednesday November 12 and the Grand Millennium, Tecom on Thursday November 13. Advance tickets Dh140 from www.timeouttickets.com