Review: PADDY YOUNG: HUNGRY, HORNY, SCARED, Soho Theatre

“Northern boy, Friday night. You know this show is gonna be depressing!”

The concept of owning a house. Hitler on a cocaine comedown. A masturbating walrus. These might sound like random topics, but they all have one thing in common - they each play a part in Paddy Young: Hungry, Horny, Scared. Young, a Northerner from Scarborough who has moved to London, is determined to put his hometown on the map by being the funniest thing that has come out of it. Unfortunately for him, a walrus has already taken the top spot. 

Young has a habit of jumping from topic to topic while still managing to keep a coherent storyline, mostly focusing on what it is like to live in London and observational comedy based on his past. There are also a few moments that feel like rants but are hilarious (quite possibly the best bits), including one about bullies and TikTok and another about how older men tend to have an obsession with historical nonfiction. 

Along with his straightforward stand-up, Young also has some fun with dramatic monologues, with a few recreating the classic “Northern film” in which only one person living in a small, Northern town wants to do something different with their lives and is judged by the rest of the community (Perfect example as given by Young? Billy Elliot). Another great moment is when he reads a dramatic poem about what he claims to be the “Dish of the North” - tap water. This particular segment included one of my favourite jokes of the night, in which Young calls cocaine in London’s water “trickle-down economics.”

A highlight of the show for me was seeing how Young interacted with the crowd, a pretty quiet group of audience members for a Friday night at Soho Theatre. Having determined that we were a “mixed ability crowd,” Young took quite a bit of time to talk with some of the people in the audience, which led to some great moments like a story about an audience member’s uncles who have been to Scarborough and one where he made people guess what his enemy/flatmate, David, did for a living (I highly doubt you’ll be able to guess on your first try).

Ultimately, Paddy Young: Hungry, Horny, Scared is a hilarious hour of stand-up comedy, made even better by Young’s fantastic crowdwork with an interesting crowd on a Friday night. I found myself struggling to breathe with laughter several times throughout the show and cannot wait to see what Young does next!

Paddy Young: Hungry, Horny, Scared returns to the Soho Theatre from 15 - 20 January 2024.

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