This laid-back Canadian may project the insouciant demeanour of an unfocussed wastrel - but that’s just camouflage, allowing him to spin some very funny yarns without drawing attention to how it’s done. Such a conversational approach is so low-key you might mistake it for genuinely unscripted chit-chat, but from the laughs he generates, it’s clear the amiable Whitehead knows exactly what he’s doing.
As a foreigner, he also has an outsiders’ take on British mores, particularly our propensity for drink, which he employs to good effect. But he’s also wise to limit this to a few quick icebreaking gags, preferring instead to dedicate most of his set to amusing first-hand anecdotes.
Seemingly modest stories about a run-in with airport security or discovering his flatmate’s vibrator unfold slightly unpredictably as real-life tales tend to do and elicit warm laughs, thanks to the empathy he so subtly engenders.
His main asset is that he’s so easy to listen to. Likeable, modest and unconfrontational at least, unless provoked Whitehead is an impressive act, on the quiet. |
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