Tim Renkow: King of the Tramps

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Tim Renkow acknowledges that he makes some people uncomfortable. But, he assures his audience, that's only because he does so on purpose.

Renkow's cerebral palsy—the realities of how it affects his life and the reactions it inspires—is at the centre of much of his comedy, which it would generally be inaccurate (and lazy) to call "politically incorrect". Rightly, Renkow has no shame about his condition, engages with it on no one's terms but his own, and has an often hilarious sense of mischief when it comes to exploiting preconceptions. There's nothing incorrect about that. The same applies to his memories of homelessness (his great mistake, he decides, was doing it sober) and his experiences with racism in America and Britain; relating how he has been called almost every racial slur going, he says: "I'm a crippled Mexican Jew. I give you options."

Obviously and immediately, Renkow's material is harsh – not aiming to shock, but cheerfully unconcerned if it does. The jokes accompanying this attitude are finely honed, with punchlines that land like gunshots. When shock finally tips over into offense, Renkow sees it coming. Briefly launching into a section on trans issues, which he deems the ultimate "first world problem", he pre-emptively acknowledges this is where he'll lose most of the audience. He may be right.

If you can somehow forget that section and move on to the next, you will be untroubled. If its memory clings to the rest of the show however, you might have a harder time thinking well of Renkow.