Little Lark of London

“Get weird or go home”

Josh Pugh: Existin’ La Vida Loca recently stopped at the Leicester Square Theatre. The opener, Raj Poojara, does a great job of getting the crowd warmed up, talking about what it’s like to be Indian in the UK in 2024 and making a range of self-deprecating jokes about himself and his family. From calling the Royal Family the most traditional Indian family to commenting on how Brexit may have prevented Madeleine McCann from returning to the UK, it’s a great set of mostly observational comedy with some fun crowd work. 

Pugh begins by claiming he was born in the wrong generation because, as he observes, he was born a generation too late to do nothing in the house, instead taking on household responsibilities that his father and his father’s father would not have done in earlier years. Now in his thirties, he only has one goal – to be “as happy as the nans,” living life without a care in the world. Unfortunately, he is a bit of a people pleaser, leading to some situations that make for some hilarious stories. 

Most of Pugh’s humour comes from observational character, from a faulty ketchup bottle cap to the joy of seeing the end of big weddings. One of the longer segments is about how Pugh has become the most sensible one of stag dos, the one that the bride goes to and asks that he takes care of everyone else in the group. This goes into some great bits including what he considers to be the hotel “Room of Death,” the proper formation for a 7-seat taxi cab and even the effect after sun lotion has on masculinity. 

Some of the best jokes are the unexpected ones, where Pugh starts with one thing and ends on something completely different, leading to loud laughs. I particularly loved him discussing The Great British Bake-Off and giving his own suggestion for how to spice things up – “Wasp Week.” He also compares parenthood to eating a pomegranate, which sounds like it’s going to be an interesting metaphor before he reveals his simple reasoning behind it. 

Towards the end, Pugh talks about his own life, including his two-year-old son and how he has discovered his own parenting style – efficiency. He also talks about his father, saying that he wasn’t an angry person and that he “just pushed a regular man to his breaking point” as a child. It is hilarious to hear Pugh describe how his father turned from a man who killed fun into Christopher Biggins, doing anything to make Pugh’s son happy. 

Ultimately, Josh Pugh: Existin’ La Vida Loca is a solid show with a surprisingly beautiful metaphor to sum it up. Who would have thought that a wonky Heinz ketchup bottle would be able to describe life?

Josh Pugh: Existin’ La Vida Loca ran on a tour across the UK from 1 February to 8 June. More information on Pugh can be found here.