Video of the Day: "Young Woody Allen" Simon Amstell Comes to S.F.

By Bryan Banducci Tue., Nov. 6 2012 at 8:30 AM

Categories: Comedy, Events

Carol Rosegg

Actor and comedian Simon Amstell has been a performer for most of his life in the UK, co-writing and starring in the BBC2 sitcom Grandma's House, hosting the game show Never Mind the Bollocks, and he also recently premiered his first stand-up TV special, Do Nothing, on BBC America. But a life in the spotlight doesn't mean one can't experience social anxiety, and Amstell highlights many of his own faults and insecurities while poking fun at social norms and absurdities in his new show "Numb."

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The show sold out in its tours of the UK and Australia and made its American debut in New York this summer to rave reviews. Many have compared the curly haired, openly gay, bespectacled comedian in his early 30s to "a young Woody Allen." Topics of his show largely revolve around his own experiences with awkwardness, solitude, family relationships, and sex, all with a highly literate and quirky tone. Amstell is a modest and shy performer, but has a keen wit and a sharp eye for society's misgivings and makes his audience feel at home with his company.

Asked by Joy Behar on The View about his show's title "Numb," Amstell deadpanned: "It's about going home every day of my life and genuinely feeling quite lonely and depressed. You should come."

Simon Amstell performs Friday, Nov. 9 at 8 p.m. (also Nov. 10) at Z Space, 450 Florida (at 17th St.), S.F. Admission is $20.

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