The Amused Moose Laugh Off Final has a pretty good track record at discovering future stars. Previous winners include Sarah Millican and Jack Whitehall. Everyone has their say in the vote – from audience members to industry representatives.

The balcony at the Hippodrome was crammed with agents, journalists and movers and shakers. Interestingly we weren’t asked to pick the best act, we were asked to pick the one we thought would be a star. A subtle difference to me, but let’s leave that aside for now. Or maybe not.

First up was Jake Lambert, who I’ve already come across in other competitions. Straight away I was conscious of the competition’s aim. Lambert didn’t have the best set but I thought he had the most star potential. He is young, engaging and just interesting enough not to be boringly mainstream. Some of his gags were on the corny side, but elsewhere he had a nice way of doing set-ups going in one direction then taking the gag in another. He could be the next Josh Widdicombe and could easily be a TV star in a few years. I thought he was going to be a tough act to follow.

Next up was Radu Isac who, I think, is the first Romanian stand-up I’ve come across on the London circuit. Isac has a distinctive style, not quite deadpan but veering in that direction. His gags unsurprisingly revolved around his nationality and his strong accent. No, he was not a meerkat.

Within Isac's easy jokes there were some interesting ideas too. Why are some foreign people in the UK called immigrants and others called ex-pats? he asked. I think the answer is that ex-pats are usually only over here temporarily while immigrants tend to be permanent, but it was still a pertinent point to make about how we define people. Isac was certainly impressive, but could he be a household name? 

The big-bearded Henry Maynard was the curveball of the night, a silent act who was a mix of Dr Brown-style immersive audience participation, children's entertainer and old school knockabout clowning. In his short set he protrayed a commuter struggling with his journey. Getting squeezed in the train doors, falling asleep on someone’s shoulder. There just weren’t many laughs until he starting pulling audience members onstage to play fellow passengers. The routine finally took off but it was too little too late.

Review continues here.

Picture by Steve Ullathorne