We Like Books Too

We love stand up comedienne Josie Long. However, we don't think she's particularly funny. At least that was our impression from the time we last saw her play at Soho Theatre where she is about to start a new residency that will run from 28th November 2007 until 15th December 2007.

Josie is to the world of stand up comedy what Belle and Sebastian are to Ozzfest. She has none of the nastiness, overt anger and bitterness that infect the work of so many comedians. When we saw her she had a knitting accomplice who spent the duration of the show knitting a prize for a lucky audience member at the side of the stage. Meanwhile Josie showed off her home-made comics, gave away badges and discussed her love of the film Rushmore.

We wanted to hug her but, curiously, she wasn't actually all that funny. The jokes were often quite tame and predictable. The enjoyment came simply from being in her company as she made us feel a little bit better about the state of the world around us. Meanwhile, many people disagree with our assessment. A certain London listings magazine are obsessed with her and she won the if.comeddies Newcomer Award in 2006. It could just be that we saw her on a bad night.

She claims that her brand new show "will inspire people to talk to each other on public transport" which can only be a good thing so we'll definitely be giving her another chance. We guarantee you'll leave her shows in a good mood and hopefully with a touch of the giggles as well.