Ria Lina - Riawakening. The Stand, Glasgow. Thursday 12th October 2033

 

Sometimes a comedian garners a long list of radio and television credits yet remains mostly unknown. Ria Lina is such a comedian (currently). I've long admired her work and was keen to see her perform her first tour show. I even missed my Thursday night writers' group meeting to do so.  

My wife and I arrived at 7.20 pm for a 7.30 pm doors open. There were only five people ahead of us in the queue. Not a promising start. Inside, the staff escorted us to our seats. I noticed the raised area had been blocked off and the entire padded bench row had been marked as reserved. So much for arriving early to snag my favourite spot. I guessed they wanted us to fill the floor tables first. I suspected this was going to be an intimate show. Not as intimate though as a pre-Taskmaster John Kearns' show where they'd curtained off half the room.

With an hour to go before showtime, I queued for drinks at the bar (because they weren't serving them in the toilet) and, as I reached the front, Ria appeared from backstage, clutching an empty plastic cup. Of course, being a gentleman, I insisted the bar staff serve her first. Ria thanked me. She has such a lovely smile. I was buzzing. She must have been too (not from meeting me) as she started to sing quietly along to the upbeat Beatles song that was playing over the sound system, grooving her shoulders to the music.   

As time went on, the venue filled up nicely. They even opened the raised area to accommodate the extra sales on the door so by the time the lights went down, there was a nice buzz about the room. (Or maybe it was just me, still buzzing from meeting her).  

She opened with some gentle crowdwork before introducing her show, about how after eighteen years of marriage, she is now single. She took us on her journey, getting to know her life, her family and her much older ex-husband, whom she married while at Uni (he was a karate instructor, with sixpack abs to die for - only he didn't die, hence the divorce, eighteen years later).   

Ria knows how to craft a joke. She packs her routines with punchlines, sometimes to the detriment of honesty, favouring the gag over truth. Some comedians adopt a persona on stage but I felt this was the real Ria hiding behind her routines. It ran like an extended club set, filled with guaranteed bangers, that stopped short of revealing any vulnerability. This choice may have been deliberate. She is career-minded, focused and determined to be a success. A complete workaholic (not wokaholic, as I initially mistyped, because that would be terribly racist, although she does play the Asian card a lot), she's looking ahead, needing to earn enough money to pay for her care home in later life when she's become her mum, a shrivelled-up Yoda.

After the show, she informed us she would be staying behind for a meet and greet for anyone who would like that, with flyers and posters to sign. I told my wife I'd like to wait. Only, being polite, I sat and waited and watched others move in to be next. My irked wife prodded me to get up and queue otherwise we'd be here all night. Ria was chatting freely with her fans so by the time it was my turn, I was shaking with nerves. She shook my hand and asked me my name. I answered and told her I didn't want a selfie, I'd like a signed flyer instead. As she reached down for one, I admitted I was nervous. She asked what I did and we shared a mutual admiration for our respective jobs. She wrote a lovely dedication. I'm so relieved she didn't ask for a dick pic in return (she has a routine about them before you ask). 

I'm still buzzing from meeting her. 

 

Ticket Price: £15

Blurb:

In the aftermath of a global pandemic, comedian and scientist, Ria Lina has had a Riawakening and sees the world differently. In this, her highly anticipated debut tour, Ria tackles the issues of coming out of a global pandemic, the new normal, divorce, dating in a new digital world, motherhood and what it really means to be a woman today.

Fearless, provocative, and very funny, Ria Lina is the only Filipina comedian in British stand-up and a hugely admired talent in the comedy industry. Her extensive list of credits includes Live At The Apollo, Have I Got News For You, Mock the Week, Lovestruck High, Richard Hammond’s Brain Reaction, House of Games, The Last Leg and Celebrity Mastermind.