Doug Stanhope

I first stumbled across US stand-up comic Doug Stanhope [link probably NSFW] some years ago and was in equal parts horrified and amused by his work. By chance, I found out that he was in the UK (at the Leicester Square Theatre) so Mrs Dynamoo and myself booked some tickets to go and see him live.

You have to understand that Stanhope is pretty much the definition of "edgy". He seems to have no taboos and no fear.. as long as he's had some beer. Understand that some of his topics include suicide, gynaecology, death, drug abuse, overpopulation, abortion and Sarah Palin. Sometimes combined (don't click if you are offended by.. well, offensive stuff).

Even people who aren't easily offended are likely to be offended by something he will say. But on the other hand, perhaps some of those observations on the human condition are more profound than you would think.

So, Stanhope was on form and really, really funny. And yes.. there were several times when I thought "no.. he can't be saying that!". I could go into details, but if you like this kind of thing then it would spoil the surprise... I think it's the first time I've ever had to watch a gig like this from between my fingers.

Anyway, Stanhope is in London and Manchester for most of September, and then back in the US doing a tour for October and November (itinerary here). Or you could purvey yourself one of his fine DVDs on Amazon.