Often it’s hard to escapethe ‘new comic’ clichés of unoriginal comedy, but if anything the acts went the other way completely. ‘The Human Tuning Fork’, a character played by Alison Thea-Skott, was first to perform, and perform she did. Her act consisted of shouting – very tunefully – at the audience and wasn’t afraid to make the audience afraid. I was afraid, and I liked it. Now there’s a woman you wouldn’t want to mess with.
It was an abrasive start to the show making it much harder to become accustomed once again with ‘normal’ comedy, but this didn’t stop Pete Starr, perhaps the most inexperienced comedian of them all (which I deduced from the fact that I’d seen him serving drinks at the bar moments earlier), from nailing his five minute set. And this is why people should go and see small shows like this, because so often you’ll watch a comedian who you know will one day be huge. Whether it’s in comedy or elsewhere, it’s great to see potential.
Next in the line up was Tim Shishodia, a veteran of the comedy circuit, who knows how to work an intimate crowd. He feeds on awkwardness and combines terrible, terrible jokes with pure genius. There’s a point when you forget which is which, but the point comes around about the same moment you stop caring and just enjoy it.
Next, the club throws a curveball in the shape of sketch performers McNeil and Pamphilon who proceed to convince you that stand-up comedy can be much more than just standing up. Getting the audience to choose their sketches and developing a bond, gave the set an improvised feel, relaxing the audience into the unchartered territory of live sketch comedy. Maybe not what the audience were expecting, but it’s fresh and new and original. Pretty soon they’ll all be doing it.
The second to last act, well placed before the headliner, was the most unexpected; A humble, geeky guy in a shiny red shirt and a makeshift mic holder around his neck. This guy was Pat Cahill, winner of the BBC Young Comedian of the Year Award 2012, but a relative unknown outside of the fringe comedy circuit and he proceeded to win the crowd over joke by joke. And if you think a song about a dog with a tumour isn’t funny, then I suggest you go and see Pat’s comedy to be proved wrong.
And last but not least, Ardal O’ Hanlon whose set was longer than the others but still not long enough. His observational comedy was spot on and relatable to more or less anybody, making him a great headline choice. And although people came for Ardal, I’ve got to say that it was the combination of all the acts which made the night unmissable. It’s a night I won’t forget in a while and if you want a relaxed but different night out, I would definitely recommend the Waterloo Comedy Club at The Horse. And, on nights there’s no comedy, they always pull a good crowd as well as a great pint.
Originally written for Guestlist.net.
