Sarah Silverman Booed At London Show

US comedian Sarah Silverman was heckled on stage during her UK stand-up debut in London.

Fans, who had paid about £50 a ticket, slow hand clapped and shouted they wanted their money back after the star's short 40-minute set.

After the audience refused to leave, Silverman was forced to give a Q&A session as an encore after admitting she had no other material prepared.

The comedian has her own show on US cable TV network Comedy Central.

Unimpressed fans shouted "you're over-hyped Sarah" and "I've seen longer clips on YouTube", before the star told the audience to "go home" and the left the stage.

Reviewers from comedy websites and national newspapers were also left underwhelmed by Silverman's set at the Hammersmith Apollo, which "fizzled out" by the end.

Keep reading BBC

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Read Daily Mail report:

Hailed as the 'world's hottest, most controversial comedian', Silverman made her full-length UK debut at London's Hammersmith Apollo last night in front of an audience that included Hollywood star Keanu Reeves.

The 37-year-old comedian charged £35 for a performance of less than an hour, where she appeared anxious and uncomfortable.

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Read The Times review of 2 stars:

She knows the limitations of her arrogant-ignorant persona. But she's not used to having to explain herself. As she stalked the stage, appearing to resent her crowd for wanting more, it was the eggiest end to a comedy show I've ever seen. Edging back to the wings with a mock-grandiose bow, it was the usual petulance but without the usual inverted commas. She blew it.

Comments

[woody5545]

*because it purely WASN'T interesting or entertaining*
tsk tsk...

[woody5545]

SS was on a mainstream UK talk show the other night and she didn't come over as being funny. She came over as arrogant, very full of herself and overhyped. It wasn't that I didn't "get" what she was saying...it's just none of it was relevant and the whole interview may as well have been in another language because it purely interesting or entertaining.
UK audiences are more attracted to self deprecating humour in my opinion (read into that as you will!) But more importantly don't ask the audience to cough up 50 quid per ticket and then clear off after 40 minutes. It's just not cricket old boy!!

[iranter]

finally, people woke up to the fact that she is in no way funny. pretty, but not funny.

[UsofA]

While I might agree with Silverman's politics, I was completely put off by her fey, "I'm a widdle eight year old" routine on Countdown with Keith Olberman. I mean, what's the point of saying something moderately clever and then following it up with twirling ones hair around ones finger while baby talking? Weird.

[Ric NYC]

She is so arrogant...
Well done!

[Kryptomart]

I don't imagine the problem was the material so much as the shortness of the set. I live in Edinburgh where the general length of a solo show at the annual comedy festival is an hour. Often the American comics, such as Kristen Schaal, show up and do 45 or 50 minutes, but because they're vaguely well-known Yanks they charge top whack. It's not good. Are US shows generally shorter?

I remember going to a comedy club in SF and most of the acts came with notes, and fumbled through their so-called sets. I dunno, they never billed themselves as amateurs.

From what I've seen, SS seems terribly overrated.

[robbor]

ah, come on, give her a break, she and her muse [?] kimmel just broke up!!

[Agentlady007]

This one's for Leo -- 'Booo".

[imsosure]

Too bad more people don't boo her off stage, perhaps though this incident will make her re-think her so called humor. She's like Don Rickles only stupid too.

[tkondaks]

I've only heard Silverman say one funny thing: "I have a long neck. People ask me how long it is. I say it is 6 inches...flaccid."
That's it. Beside that, nada.
I don't get her and other than being pretty I have no other reason to look at her on TV.

[oiba]

She can be funny sometimes, but it seems as if she say it because it's raunchy, and there are too many comedians like that.
Overall, my favorite comedian is Bill Hicks, no one can ever compare to him. I love Carlin too, but I love Hicks more.
I understand the life of a comedian is tough, but if you can only present 40 minutes of material after being in the business for a long time becomes pathetic.

[Adrienne Williams - Huffpost Blogger]

LOL I was in a British comedy club earlier this year, and the audience is just brutal, if you are not good, or don't understand British humor or what is going on in their country, you will get booed. Sarah, do your homework on the country that you are trying to entertain.

A few tips what Brits like.

-They hate Bush, talk about him.
-The love Obama, talk about him
-They think Americans shouldn't have voted for Bush 2 times, talk about that
-They hate racist jokes but if you talk about everyone, they are okay with it, within reason.
- Do not bring out the black doll that is banned, that was not nice to sit and watch and I (the American) had no clue what this doll was, but everyone was looking at me, as if saying sorry...
They love talking about celebs! Name drop!

I hope this helps you next time Sarah.

[DrYRHead]

Just don't talk about their Royals, for they will take that personal.

[wibble]

Best joke so far ^

For us Brits the Royal Family are a rich seam of comedy writers..

[BetterAmerica]

When she's funny, she's really funny.

When she's not-it's just teenage humor.

[TaiwanTim]

Sarah is funnier than Rachel Maddow. What scares me about Maddow, is that she actually takes herself seriously. I rank Rachel Maddow somewhere between Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Intellectually Maddow scores just below Carrot Top and morally a bit above Michael Savage.

Either way, I think it is poor decision making on the part of media executives to give either woman their own show. Both are hacks. Both are lame. I guess they just wanted to give the lowest common denominator a show that they could call their own.

[11907281]

George Carlin is funnier than Wolf Blitzer, your point is? Saying Maddow is "morally a bit above" Savage, shows your true stripes .... I would hazard a guess the fact Maddow has a girlfriend is was "grinds your gears". No to Prop 8 !

[TaiwanTim]

Why would you assume that I would not support same sex marriage because I see Sarah Silverman and Rachel Maddow as nothing more than gutter level talking heads? I am an Obama supporter and get my "media" news from npr and pbs. I do listen to Rush and Rachel on occasion to see how far left and right these morons and their kool aid drinkers are spinning their crap. I only want to point out that Sarah, as lame as she is, doesn't take herself all that seriously. Rachel on the other hand... who should we be more worried over - her or her mindless fans?

What "grinds my gears"? Mindless idiots who glorify their favorite talking head.

[csuciadams]

Rachel Maddow went to Stanford and Oxford. Where did you go to college?

[Twrexx]

Perhaps in the Bizarro world you live in Maddow is "somewhere between Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity." In this one, Maddow has a Ph.D. in political science and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. She does her homework to get the facts straight, asks salient questions of her guests, and does anything BUT take herself too seriously. Check out the "Rachel Maddow at home" article on Huff to see what I mean.

[Fernando]

I'm glad. Sara Silverman, Dane Cook and Katt Williams. (Sigh) I remember when comedy used to be funny.