Cliffs Pavilion, Southend
Now free of cancer, Gilbert looks back on his illness with a characteristic mixture of emotional candour and uproarious humour
A standup show about cancer? It’s a far cry from the brand of comedy – wild overreactions to trivial irritants – that made Rhod Gilbert’s name. But what else can we expect the Welshman to talk about, after a diagnosis of head and neck cancer in 2022 upended his life? His first show since then (he got the all-clear last October) is an extraordinary affair – if not for its subject, now far from unique in standup, then for the combination of emotional candour and uproarious humour with which the 55-year-old treats it.
He starts the show (entitled Rhod Gilbert and the Giant Grapefruit, in tribute to the size of his tumour) by warning us of the sensitive topic to hand, likely to have personal relevance to many in the room. If that suggests we should lower expectations of gaiety (and I’ve seen trauma-comedy shows to which that applies), Gilbert swiftly dispels such concerns, with a barnstorming two hours that stint on neither the horrors of his cancer journey, nor on hilarity.
