Latitude review: Trevor Noah

It’s impossible not to like Trevor Noah.

Perched against a stool, Noah draws upon, with unwavering optimism, his life in South Africa, touching upon its political struggles, its horrific crime record, and, the worst of all, its national instrument, the vuvuzela.

A particular highlight is Noah’s routine about how safe it is living in the UK, using danger sports as an example.

Noah claims that in England we jump off bridges for fun because our lives are never in genuine danger, whereas his countrymen would never think of taking part in such a ridiculous hobby. As well as it being incredibly funny, he’s kind of got a point.

Not all of Noah’s material is about growing up in Africa, as he wanders off-piste to varying degrees of success.

His gambit about babies is nicely observed, as he cleverly compares their behaviour to footballers, but Noah falls short on his closing routine about ‘the difference between men and women’.

Noah says that men are more open about their emotions, and say what’s on their mind no matter how innocent that may be – while women bottle it up until one day they snap. We’ve heard it all before.

All in all, it’s a rare lull in an otherwise spotless set. Catch him if you can.

Date of live review: Friday 18 July 2014 @ Henham Park, Suffolk.