We Love Comedy: Effra Social Club, Brixton, London, 2013
99 Club Comedy: Leicester Square, London, 2016
Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2016
Always Be Comedy: The Exhibit, Balham, London, 2017
Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2018
Always Be Comedy Online: 2020
#SaveLiveComedy: (Show 2): The Clapham Grand, London: Online: 2020
Always Be Comedy Online: (3 shows): Online: 2020
Always Be Comedy Online: Online: 2021
Return of The Craic Online Comedy Club: Online: 2021
Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2021
Always Be Comedy: Sambrook’s Brewery, Wandsworth, London, 2021
Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2022
Dane Baptiste is a Black British comedian who I have watched for the last few years and have experienced his rise in popularity. I have seen him play the We Love Comedy project in Brixton, London in 2013, the 99 Comedy Club in London in 2016 and the two venues for Always Be Comedy in Balham and Kennington, London in 2016 and 2017.
Baptiste is not afraid to tackle tough subjects like race in his routines and what sets him apart is how fast paced and logical his performances were. Every time, he stormed through the material while consistently delivering fresh perspectives. His unrelenting narrative flow seamlessly connected each section and towed the line between laughter and seriousness perfectly. His audience connected with him on each occasion and were enthused by his performances.
I watched Baptiste deliver a twenty-minute set at Always Be Comedy in February 2018. Baptiste was a particularly good, unpretentious, laid-back comedian with smart and very funny, interesting things to say.
He appeared again for Always Be Comedy Online in June 2020 and for #SaveLiveComedy in August 2020 before headlining Always Be Comedy Online in September 2020 and appearing again in October 2020. He delivered a fearless and no holds-barred account of coping during the extraordinary circumstances of lockdown during the worldwide epidemic of 2020.
His online appearances at Always Be Comedy Online and Return of The Craic Online Comedy Club in January 2021 plus his return to live stand-up at Always Be Comedy in Kennington in July 2021 were witty, sharp, and extremely clever. His delivery of a joke was brilliant, and the punchline created waves of laughter from the online and live audiences.
Baptiste deservedly headlined the new Always Be Comedy venue at Sambrook’s Brewery, Wandsworth in September 2022 and returned to Kennington in December 2022, where both times, he had a totally unique way of delivering a story or a joke making the audience listen and laugh.