Words: Francis Wylde 
Image: Jax Moussa

4 Stars 

A razor-sharp cabaret blending singing, stand-up and political commentary. 

Reuben Kaye’s Hard to Swallow is fantastically fun. It’s filthy. It’s glamorous. It’s also wholly unafraid of making you uncomfortable. No subject is off limits for Kaye, from Charlie Kirk to Palestine, the Epstein files and Hitler. The show covers a lot, but never feels bloated or controversially forced. 

Some of the topics are familiar, well-trodden ground, and some of the targets are perhaps too easy, but Kaye brings a fresh wit and daring to them, along with a willingness to push things further. His stage presence is magnetic, and it’s his pure confidence and charisma that carries the show. Alongside sharply written songs backed by a live band, there’s plenty of audience interaction, including climbing onto audience members’ knees, and an energy that never lets up. 

But beneath the glitz, glamour and innuendo is something deeper. Kaye is interested in power, who has it, who gets to wield it, and what happens when we start to challenge it. His commentary never slips into a lecture; it’s too fun for that. Kaye understands that sometimes the best way to make people listen is to make them laugh. 

Bold, hilarious and occasionally shocking, with surprising moments of genuine emotional impact. 

Reuben Kaye: Hard to Swallow
Palais du Variété at Assembly George Square Gardens 
20.00
6th – 29th August (NOT Sundays and Mondays)