4/5 stars

In a room above a pub on a Tuesday night in Leeds, Josie Long admits she’d welcome a bloody revolution in which the working classes overthrow our tyrannical government. Out of context, that piece of information could be misconstrued, but in the confines of her new live show, Adventure and Romance, it’s actually the lead-in to a hilarious (and slightly unnerving) imagining of what we might hope for if, come 2015, Ed Miliband becomes our new Prime Minister. Without saying too much, it involves a gun and burning a lot of mansions down.

This is just one of the highlights in Long’s  hour and a half long show, not including a fifteen minute introduction made prior to her support act, in which Josie re-enacted Jay-Z’s 99 Problems, in the voice of a 1930s film noir detective. Believe me – once you hear it, you can’t unhear it.  Long willingly admits the title of the tour has little to do with its content, and sure enough Romance and Adventure is less about the former of the two, but she does take us on a whirlwind journey through her own past adventures, describing the internal conflict of being privileged whilst believing strongly in social justice, and how to stay positive in a world that seems more depressing by the day.

One of the benefits of such an intimate venue is feeling a real sense of closeness to the performer and listening to Long felt less like a scripted routine and more like a conversation with the girl you wished was your best mate. In addition, the support act (Nadia Kamil) was a treat; I never thought I’d see feminist burlesque, a rap about the importance of regular smear tests, and Haka brought together on stage, but somehow it worked.

If you have the chance to catch Long’s tour, it comes highly recommended. The atmosphere is relaxed, the content is clever (and gives you plenty to think about), but above all- she’ll make you laugh.

Hannah Woodhead