Greg Proops

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Sassy and sarcastic San Franciscan comedian Greg Proops is known by many for his dry and quirky contributions to Whose Line Is It Anyway back in the nineties. In his standup he's more reminiscent of a camp male version of a Valley Girl, snide and cutting and taking no prisoners.

For the first part of tonight it feels like he's here, but his UK material has failed to greet him at the airport. References to life in Delaware have parallels on this side of the pond, but Proops takes his time landing on a direct target, despite a caustic and acerbic attitude in full flow. As you have gathered, Proops is a man that many adjectives can be ascribed to, and a utiliser of many too. Sometimes his descriptive rhythm makes his routines sound almost poetic, bordering on conceited. He's certainly uncharitable when it comes to Ireland, the subject of an extended section that begins "for the purposes of this joke I went to Ireland", an example of his occasional deconstruction. 

While his take on how the Potato famine may have started is something everyone can enjoy, his character assassination of the country as lacking "gumption" and "ambition" is surprisingly harsh and devoid of any irony. While many of his waspish remarks surprise rather than smart, there's a detachment about Proops that makes him intermittently impenetrable tonight. Leaving his more accessible material on the US—namely the presidential race—as a closing post script; Proops leaves on a high note, but it's been a puzzling journey at times.