Judi Love: All About The Love Tour at Lighthouse Poole Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Mel S-W
Judi Love brought her brand-new All About The LOVE Tour to Lighthouse Poole for a one-night-only performance, delivering an evening packed with humour, honesty and relatable stories about the realities of juggling parenting, work and everyday life.
Known to many as a regular panellist on Loose Women, a contestant on Taskmaster and for how I know her, for her memorable appearance on Last One Laughing. Considering that I’ve only seen her when she’s trying to not laugh… I was expecting big things and tonight Judi did not disappoint.
Warming up the audience was the fabulous Kyrah Gray who hit the stage with her funny wit, hilarious stories of big families, Jamaican family judgements. She warmed the crowd up with a treat and we were then soon laughing out loud at her hilarious anecdotes about her grandmother who was one of 19 children and how she couldn’t date Jamaican men.
After a 20 minute interval, Judi, who had just returned from a few nights of the tour in New York, took to the stage with the warmth, charisma and infectious energy that you can tell has entertained audiences across the country and made her a firm favourite. She went straight into topical current events and quips about the local area, and trying to find a local rich man (but maybe looking in the wrong side of town).
Throughout the show, she shared her trademark home truths and hilarious observations on modern life, offering fresh insights into navigating a world full of surprises, struggles and transformations. She touched on the struggles of her time in social housing, the community that surrounded her and then the different struggles when moving to an area with little diversity. Her natural storytelling ability and larger-than-life personality ensured there were plenty of laughs along the way, while also touching on the challenges that come with being a parent, friend and public figure… especially trying to stay calm in road rage incidents.
Judi reflected on a life spent serving others, whether through friendships, family life, the workplace or television, explaining how humour has often been a lifeline through life’s ups and downs. At the heart of the show was the message that, ultimately, it’s all about the love. She talked freely about approaching life with love and empathy and sometimes there was too much of both of those elements and it got her in situations that were difficult to get out of. All of these skits were delivered quickly, well timed and with sass, including her story where she was held hostage!
My personal favourites were her recollection of the time she went for a bikini wax. I’m not really sure I can do this justice, so I will just say that for her opening gag it was splendid and included her being charged three times as much as normal and a bird flying out of her bush!! I also liked the message to us 40+ somethings in the audience, that Judi was now in her “f**k it” era and sometimes you just need to go with it. After finishing the show with a standing ovation from the crowd, she remained on the stage in order to talk and have pictures.
Described by the Evening Standard as “not so much a comic, more a force of nature”, and I completely agree. Judi certainly brought that energy to the Lighthouse stage, captivating the audience with her candid approach and effortless connection with the crowd. She had energy, humour and some great facial expressions that made the night one to remember. She is definitely a comic that I will keep an eye out for and would come back again to see future tours.
Rating: 5/5
Tickets started from £35.20. For other events and shows go online https://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/whats-on/ or call the Box Office on 01202 280000.
The full address is Lighthouse, Arts and Entertainment, 21 Kingland Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1UG
https://judilove.co.uk/tour