Clinton Baptiste – Live Review – Brudenell Social Club

By Victoria Holdsworth, November 2023

Tonight certainly started with a bang! After narrowly avoiding a firework attack whilst standing in the entrance to the Brudenell, we filed into the main room as the smoke cleared, to see two comedy naturals at work.

The support tonight came from Geordie, Mike Milligan who, to be honest, didn’t get up on stage with any material, because he didn’t need to. He just introduced himself, and chatted with some audience members, just going with the flow. With quick-witted retorts, and thinking fast on his feet, he created his entire set from just those conversations. With much hilarity ensuing!

There were a few hecklers, who were dealt with swiftly and without leniency. Even the paramedic whom he mistook for a drug dealer, and the very vocal lady sat at the front called Therese who couldn’t control her verbal diarrhoea and was so far in her own bubble she didn’t realise just how much she was the brunt of the joke.

I would love to see this guy perform again. He was the perfect warm-up, to what was to be something very special.

“Mystery and pizazz”

With his usual dramatic entrance, Clinton Baptiste takes to the stage with his usual air of mystery and pizzazz.

After his high-pitched welcome of, “Y’all right” he almost has to do a second introduction for the new barnet that he’s sporting tonight, which would put Bonnie Tyler to shame!

Clinton makes a beeline for some of the audience members that Mike had previously spoken with. And the stall is definitely set for what we are in for.

Tonight, we are going to peek behind his celestial curtains, and he will bend over backwards to show you his third eye and prove that there is life after death. He’ll also tell us about being able to predict the footy scores on TalkSport.

Spirit was very strong from the off, and before Clinton even gets into who’s visiting him on stage, the facial expression and comedy timing from Clinton Baptiste creator, Alex Lowe, will have you giggling uncontrollably before a word is even uttered. This man really should be sponsored by an incontinence product business or at the very least a tissue manufacturer, because he is relentlessly funny. From start to finish, you hardly have chance to draw breath.

“A wonder to behold”

With a heartfelt, “Namaste, Shalamah, Shackattack!” the first half of the set is full of audience participation, passing on messages from beyond the realm, sometimes cutting, and brutally honest, but never cruel. As Clinton reminds us, “I am just the conduit for spirit, so don’t shoot the messenger.”

The rapport with his audience is a wonder to behold, and if he locks onto you, there is no escape, so always be prepared to laugh at yourself, as it is all meant in the greatest of humour.

Each message given sees Clinton Baptiste produce a white feather from his white satin-sleeved short to leave with his connected soul, but it doesn’t take long for Therese to start chiming into Clinton’s set, and her takedown is acidic and brutally pitying at the same time.

Throughout the second half of his set, we get to hear more of a deep dive into his past, and his dabblings with the ordinary life, before becoming the notorious clairvoyant medium psychic that he is today.  He shares some touching moments from his childhood and the family dynamics which shaped him into the man we see before us today. The stories he can tell are not for the faint-hearted… you have been warned!

“Razor-sharp retorts”

If you haven’t seen any of Baptiste’s previous shows or listened to any of the podcasts, then some jokes are very quickly explained, so you won’t miss a trick with any of the quips, especially about his marriage to the very elderly Maureen; a fire-eating cougar with whom Clinton learnt quite a few tricks of the trade in showbiz to get by, shall we say.

The spontaneity of Alex Lowe is a sight to behold. His comedy timing comes so naturally to him, and he never breaks character for a second. Lowe reacts to the banter with razor-sharp retorts, not unlike Lily Savage, but with more bling!

Yes, some of the humour is almost childlike, but it will set you down a giggle path that there is no coming back from. And when the clever stuff comes out, all guns blazing, after being lulled into a false sense of security, he will pounce and have you crying with laughter, whilst nervously shuffling in your seat, praying he doesn’t come to you next.

The way that Alex Lowe has the ability to mix up his routine and pull a skit from nowhere, is testament to his acting abilities. He has some terrific lines throughout his act, that are really not repeatable, but pure naughtiness abounds.

He will pleasurably probe your soul with the sublime to the ridiculous, so if you are easily offended, then this is not the show for you. However, if you see the humour in everything then I would highly recommend grabbing a ticket for his next tour, Roller Ghoster!

As the spirits are fading now… fading now…they show that Clinton Baptiste is such a superb medium, he’s almost a large!