I guess April Fools Day was a pretty good day to have this year's annual Sketch Off Final, brilliantly hosted by waspish thespian Anna Mann (alias Colin Hoult). Though maybe they need to think of a new title. It's not just sketches, you see, it's character comedy, monologues, anything really apart from trad stand-up, or as they put it, it is a "showcase for the UK's best up-and-coming sketch artists and character acts".

First up-and-coming was Charlie Vero Matin, who definitely slotted into the character act part of the definition. Vero Martin played Persephone Gemstone, a barefoot wellness/mindfulness guru who was big on jargon, small on anything that actually meant anything. It was all about finding your place on the "truth vine" and other sorts of new age nonsense. The audience interaction was good, but the writing could've been tighter. The character was definitely relatable if a little bit old hat. Gemstone could easily have cropped up in Absolutely Fabulous and was an absolutely decent start to proceedings.

Funnily enough the previous night I'd watched the Musical Comedy Awards and had said I'd like to see more of Will BF. Well, I got my chance within 24 hours. Sort of. BF was back in this final but while I'd like to have seen him do something else he did the same extended song about having two dead arms as lucky charms. I'd seen it online on a live stream last night though and in the flesh his dead arms did pack more of a punch, just not enough to land him a placing.

Next up was a lecture on how to handle cutlery without injuring oneself from safety expert Ian Crawford. This kind of officious, nerdy character has popped up on TV and onstage in the past a few times, but there was no denying the crispness of Crawford's writing. Each pedantic reference to the correct use of stainless steel forks and how not to stab yourself in the eye came with a neat jabby punchline. There was a hint of John Shuttleworth about Crawford but a freshness too. Not exactly cutting edge, but pretty sharp.

Mad Ron is another character act, the creation of Steve Lee. The bullet-headed wokirng class geezer has been around a while but is never less than entertain with his slightly menacing delivery. He's no cartoonish gangster, a bit more rounded than that, just something of a man out of time. He didn't feature in the top three but he's a reliable act, albeit not quite as mad as his name suggests.

Lorna Rose Treen, who closed the first half, has been making waves on the competition circuit since the pandemic, winning both the Stage Award and the Comedy Short Award at the Funny Women Awards last September. What was particularly impressive was that her character tonight, a Brownie showing off her somewhat unusual badges, was a completely different act to the one she did in the Funny Women final. Treen is clearly a skilful, versatile performer with a penchant for off-kilter quirkiness, but had to settle for second place this time round.

Review continues here.