Review: TOM LAWRINSON: HUBBA HUBBA, Soho Theatre

“I feel like we’ve all learned something tonight”

Tom Lawrinson: Hubba Hubba begins with Lawrinson emerging from behind the curtains, acting shy towards the audience and hiding his face behind his jacket. This act is quickly dropped, however, and it is revealed that Lawrinson is anything but shy, as he goes straight from this bit into discussing getting a handjob from Hagrid from the Harry Potter franchise. 

In fact, there are quite a few Harry Potter-themed jokes throughout the show, including a hilarious bit about how different the show’s villain, Lord Voldemort, would be if he had been called Ian - it’s hard to imagine anyone joining the Death Eaters to follow a man named Ian, at least according to Lawrinson. There is also another great bit about David Tennant in Goblet of Fire that leads into a bit focused on how rich people can get away with crazy things that the average person would be unable to.

Lawrinson himself acknowledges just how weird some of the bits are, declaring quite early on in the show that he’s a “bit of an odd guy.” Of course, this information comes after a truly bizarre story about impersonating a pigeon and driving his nan insane, so one might have guessed Lawrinson was a bit odd before the declaration. This oddness is on display during Lawrinson’s unique yet fun crowd work, in which he asks audience members things like whether they raised on formula or breast milk and even the question, “Do you ever miss being a baby?”

But, after nearly an hour of jokes, it’s time for Lawrinson to get serious, as he wants to end his show with something important - sexism. Having observed many woman dealing with catcalling from men, Lawrinson has decided to try to fix the issue in his own way, which he refers to as “anti-sexism,” where he goes up to women who are smiling and yells at them to stop smiling, quite literally the opposite of your average catcall.  

Ultimately, Tom Lawrinson: Hubba Hubba is an absurdly funny show that works without an overarching narrative or darker theme behind it. Lawrinson delivers a solid hour that mixes strange stories, fun crowd work and lots of Harry Potter references into some great standup.

Tom Lawrinson: Hubba Hubba ran from 20 to 22 May at Soho Theatre.

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