King’s Cross may be the worst meeting place in rush-hour London. Every Tube heading there is more sardine can than mode of transport, and the local bars aren’t much better. But with pals coming in from Essex, Mayfair, and Harrow, it really is the only logical midway point. Thankfully, we stumbled across a little cocktail spot called Bell & Viv that does a solid selection of Japanese gins – just what we needed to take the edge off the demoralising commute.

With moods sufficiently lifted by alcohol, we started our journey to Caledonian Road for a night of comedy. The London Pleasance may not boast the grandeur of its Edinburgh big brother, but turning that corner and seeing the lights and flyers still delivers a proper Fringe-worthy vibe. Inside, the venue’s décor is all flora, fauna, and photos of comedy greats, past and present. We quickly snagged a drink from the bar and headed up the stairs to the Studio.

This wasn’t our first time seeing Yuriko Kotani. She wowed us at Edinburgh back in 2019, and I was excited to see what her latest show had to offer.

But as she stepped onto the stage, something felt off. The room was too bright, the mood was subdued, and Kotani seemed nervous. Our clown seemed to need to thrive off the crowd’s energy, but sadly, as any homeless person will attest, a rush-hour London crowd isn’t exactly known for its giving nature.

To be fair, the crowd wasn’t rude – just low energy and reluctant to engage with the opening back-and-forth. Comedians have faced tougher rooms, but this lethargy seemed to throw our clown off her rhythm, which impacted the entire show.

Kotani is such a likeable performer that you find yourself rooting for her, willing each punchline to land. And while there were some excellent ideas in this set, not much truly hit the mark. The biggest laugh of the night probably came when Kotani yelled, “Fuck off, you c*nt!” at an ‘evil spirit’ – brought to life as a Kaiju shadow puppet.

The material tackled some incredibly big topics such as divorce and anxiety – always a challenge in comedy, even more so in a second language. And while we admired her effort and thoroughly enjoyed her presence, this particular performance didn’t quite come together.

That said, much like the most famous Kaiju of them all, Godzilla, we’ve no doubt she’ll return, bigger and better, with a whole new bag of tricks.

Clown Stars: * * *

@The Pleasance, London