Another week, another comedy competition. The Magners New Act 2015 was the last gig of this year’s Greenwich Comedy Festival and looks set to be another regular staging post for ambitious comedians. It also had the added of attraction of boasting a short line-up. There were only six finalists, chosen via both live heat and online poll, meaning that there was no chance for audience giggle fatigue to set in.
A late start did, however, mean that the crowd took a while to warm up. Compere Mark Olver, last seen on this weekend’s Deal Or No Deal special, did a fine job of getting everyone in the mood before introducing first act, musical comic George Rigden. There was an enjoyable, if occasionally awkward, contrast between Rigden's cheery melodies and his darker lyrics.
Rigden’s stage persona is very much the loser/loner with a hint of geek lobbed in for good measure. His musical seduction of a woman in the front row – after telling her boyfriend to clear off, was slightly menacing but also funny. Rigden probably has a future writing topical songs for Radio 4 as well as disturbing ones but he didn’t quite do enough on the night to make an impact with the judges (myself, Chortle’s Steve Bennett and promoter Georgie Donnelly).
Second up was Lolly Adefope in the guise of wannabe stand-up Gemma. I was surprised Adefope didn’t figure in the Best Newcomer Awards in Edinburgh as her full character comedy show demonstrated her range. Here she stuck to the “I’m mad, me” office drone Gemma and maybe the audience took a while to latch onto the fact that it was not for real.
But after some initial nervousness in the crowd her awful jokes and anecdotes hinting at an isolated, miserable life offstage started to build momentum. Best of all Adefope has the confidence to commit to the character even when things aren’t going great. She didn’t win, but is clearly destined to win praise elsewhere.
Chris Washington was probably to most mainstream act of the night, discussing his career as a postman with an easy northern delivery (no pun intended) after opening by recalling a bad gig in Blackpool when he was mistaken for a racist comic. He got his best responses when highlighting the clichés members of the public always trotted out when he was on his rounds that they thought were devastatingly original, such as “If they are bills you can keep them.” Washington wasn’t particularly original himself, but if you like jokes about Rugby League he has a fair number of effective quips about the sport. A good try, but no win.
Review continues here.
