Fresh after last year’s STRICTLY scandal, comedian Seann Walsh is back on top form with his come back gig AFTER THIS ONE, I’M GOING HOME
Last October’s STRICTLY COME DANCING stint saw Seann Walsh begin to gain momentum with the public. Three weeks in and having just smashed a sexually charged Pasodoble with his married partner Katya Jones, Seann was, in his words, “the happiest I’ve ever been in my life!” It was extremely short-lived, his agent informing him that The Sun had dropped a photo of him and dance partner Katya sharing a very public kiss after a boozy celebratory night out.
AFTER THIS ONE, I’M GOING HOME is Walsh’s ‘come back gig’ so it’s pretty obvious that the STRICTLY COME DANCING scandal is going to be visited upon. Straight off the bat, the events following The Sun’s revelations are detailed to the audience in true Walsh fashion. Suited, booted and full of energy as he enters the stage, “So, I was in this relationship!” begins Walsh, six words that manage to pull a big laugh from the crowd… maybe this isn’t going to be too painful.
This is Walsh’s platform to get his side of the story across, and he does. He’s very honest about how badly he has screwed up various gigs and opportunities in the past and how the Katya kiss was even more of a royal mess than the time he died on stage in front of Prince Charles at the Royal Variety performance. There’s also a nod to the part of the show that’s now been ‘cut’ – “Before the show, the newspapers were complaining they didn’t know who I was. You know who I am now, motherf*****. I’m the guy who kissed a gay man’s wife!”
Walsh has obviously been through the mill since the controversy. He has been on the receiving end of the merciless Twitter trolls, as well as paparazzi hounding him, his family and neighbours. He describes the moment in Notting Hill when a full-on panic attack left him face down in the street at the mercy of a passing couple in a Tesla and the surreal rescue back to his secret hotel location. All the stories are pretty emotionally horrific but Walsh sells the humour in them with such animation that he is at times, face down on the floor or springing from one side of the stage to the other. His impression of Michael McIntyre is flawless and the suggestion of a skit on houmous/hummus draws a big laugh.
The set ends with the week four Charleston that never was. The full routine is performed to the audience sans Katya with a small nod to The Smiths at the end. This tour is the catharsis that follows a catastrophe. Walsh has literally picked himself up, dusted himself off whilst convalescing in LA and, newly single, is now fully focussing on re-establishing his comedy career and getting himself into the club.
Seann Walsh – AFTER THIS ONE, I’M GOING HOME performed at The Lowry on 7 April 2019
Lola Maguire leases cars by day and has evolved to live off movies, books, gin and sarcasm; probably the best cheese eater in the world. Guitarist and singer in a band, co-creator of two kids, currently writes for Frankly My Dear.
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