Michelle Collins is an American comedian and talk show host, based in NYC. She has appeared in many TV shows in America and was a co-host on The View, but her profile in the UK is pretty much unknown, which makes it a particular brave step to have a four day run in the big room of the Soho Theatre, sharing the programming with Stewert Lee on the basement room.
As a Portuguese person, who’s been living in London for a few years, but has never really dived into Eastenders, I wasn’t aware there’s a huge Michelle Collins named spot in British people’s minds. I was brought up to date at the top of the show in one of the funniest starts to shows I remember being witness to. I was hysterically laughing from the first minute.
Strong Monster is a somewhat anarchic show, where Michelle goes through family photos, funny internet videos, people’s Instagram photos and stealthily taken photos of people around her in queues and baseball games, and tells us stories about them. It all feels like a friend telling you about their parents, or that person they met while on their holidays, but it’s impossible to stop laughing.
As a comedian, I had a lesson on how to deal with a room that felt a little empty and a couple of drunk hecklers – Michelle Collins dealt with both these factors as if that didn’t matter, while also calling both things out, and giving the audience the same amount of commitment and energy she’d give a sold-out room.
There are two shows left and I recommend you take a break from your Pride weekend celebrations to regroup with a guaranteed hour of laughter before heading back out to party!
Michelle Collins: Strong Monster is at the Soho Theatre until 6th July, 9.15PM. For tickets and more information click here.
