Review: Philipp Kostelecky: Daddy’s Home

He may look, as he puts it, like a Republican senator’s son or the villain in a basketball movie, but Philipp Kostelecky is an exciting new stand-up who’s not afraid to get mucky or dark – occasionally simultaneously.

His clean-cut demeanour contrasts with some material that you wouldn’t want to watch with your parents (some of it a little too near the knuckle, as it were), but he’s got the kind of presence and confidence in his skills to give the impression that he’s as surprised as we are about what he comes out with.

Kostelecky, who’s six foot four, is Austrian, Slovenian and American, his accent mainly settling in the latter territory. The youngest, and favourite, of four kids, he grew up without his dad, and many of the father figures he cultivated in his mind (male comedians) have been cancelled. 

As per the title, he also plays with the use of the term “daddy”, but at its heart this is a show about relationships and the denial of mental health problems, all lubricated with some astute and unusual observations, committed mimes and quality jokes. Stark truths about the cost of living are handled cleverly and one particular memory of his father would make for a fascinating short story.

Kostelecky’s only 25 but he’s already got the slickness of someone who’s been doing this for decades. One might say there’s something of a young Alex Edelman about his style.

Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like we’ve got ourselves a contender.