Simon Amstell To Be Free at The Lowry Review
Simon Amstell
To Be Free
The Lowry, Manchester
15 February 2015
Reviewed by Sophie Knight
I have been a big fan of Simon Amstell ever since he starred in ‘Never Mind the Buzzcocks” and “Grandma’s House” so I was delighted to have the opportunity to see him perform live at the Lowry Theatre in Salford Quays, Manchester. We parked easily in the safe multi-storey carpark and walked the short distance to the attractive modern theatre with its riverside views. The theatre is very accessible and is ideally situated with good transport links with both buses and the metro link close by. When we arrived, the attentive staff welcomed us, handed us our tickets and directed us to our seats.
The opening act was award winning Norwegian comedian Daniel Simonsen, who entertained the audience for the first half an hour. After the interval, Simon came on stage to warm applause from the crowd and kept us all amused for the remainder of the show. He came across as articulate and quick witted, discussing his private life with anecdotes detailing the relationship with his parents and with his boyfriend. Some of his material can be a bit near the knuckle at times and not suitable for anyone who is easily offended but the audience at the Lowry loved him. He was at his best when he interacted with members of the public, performing a question and answer session at the end of the show. Simon is a very likeable comedian and the 60 minutes absolutely flew by.
We had an amazing evening and thoroughly enjoyed the show. I would recommend this performance and am so glad I had the chance to see Simon perform his stand up show live.
Rating: 5/5 
Simon Amstell is currently on tour with To Be Free. For more information and tour dates visit www.simonamstell.co.uk.
For shows at The Lowry visit www.thelowry.com.
The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays, Manchester, M50 3AZ | 0843 208 6000
