The first-ever Bristol Comedy Festival has just closed, having featured tour shows, works in progress, roast battles, local talent, sketch comedy, secret headliners and pop up events. And, of course, a comedy competition. 240 entrants sent in clips, which were whittled down to live heats, two semi-finals and then this weekend's final, featuring six of the best. And, to my surprise, just one judge – me in a special seat and my own table on the side of the sold out room...
It has become a bit of a trope to say that the standard was really high, but, hey, the standard was really high. For relatively new acts, they were all confident and assured. And funny. If they were nervous that was because they were playing a character who was nervous. They were a pretty diverse bunch too. If they are the future of comedy then comedy's future is in safe hands.
First up was Vinny Shiu, from Portsmouth but with Chinese parentage. Needless to say this gave him a strong, unusual outlook, with jokes about race that often had a neat rug-pull to them. A story about an exchange trip not working out quite as expected was particularly strong. A great way to set the bar high for the night.
If Vinny was low-key, Steve "lock up your daughters" Portas was off the scale in the other direction, kicking off by charging down the centre aisle. Imagine simon Brodkin's Lee Nelson but still living it large as if rave culture had just happened. Portas, actually performer Daisy Doris May, was full on and very funny and when an audience member was coaxed onstage to reenact a club night meet-cute, Portas was gifted with someone who played the game without ever trying to focus pull. I don't know if this was something that could be sustained for a whole hour, but then again, I probably thought the same about the Pub Landlord three decades ago...
After a quick break, Emma Hughes came on to explain that she was recovering from a leg injury where the doctor has informed her that her kneecap was a "normal deformity" – a phrase that she felt summed up her entire personality. And sure enough Hughes, from Australia, skilfully leaned into the idea of being an oddball. She also had a nice line in observation descriptions, comparing a flock of seagulls' behaviour to "lads on a stag do." Hughes finished by joking about her big feet and judging by this performance she could be a big talent too.
Jojo Maberly ended the second section with some distinctive musical comedy and innovative use of looping, bringing her own laughter and heckles. The main bulk of her material was about growing up in a small village where most of her relatives appear to have been church wardens or have some connection with the church – which may explain why she was landing roles in the annual nativity well into her teens. Nepo baby clearly isn't just about getting on TV. Religion was a theme with a stand-out song being about a sexy clergyman - very different to Fleabag's hot priest. There were plenty iof surprises here to keep the audience amused. In my mind Maberly was going to take some beating...
And then the opening act of the third section made me wonder if she could be ousted from first place. Maddie Coombes was superb at finding the humnour in being an intense, obsessive ex-girlfriend. She explained that she was now single, but in a noncommitted "situationship" which has the sex and fun of a relationship but he "wouldn't really care if I died." She also confessed to being a people pleaser and certainly pleased the 150 people in the audience. After much mental wrestling with myself, I stood by my choice of Maberly in first place (winning £500 cash and £500 worth of paid work), with Coombes second (winning £250 worth of paid work).
Or could final act Omari Douglas pip them both? His opening certainly made an impact - it takes a lot of courage to spend as much time as Douglas did without saying anything. Could he keep this up? He started strongly with a routine in which he explained that he only learnt about class and where he was in the social pecking order through playing Monopoly. His sideways look at the world was a definite hit, but not quite enough to make the top two. Douglas is a rising star though, there's no doubt about it. In fact you can say the same for all the acts in the final.
Pictured: The finalists: Jojo Maberly is wearing the long dress, comperte and organiser Burt Williamson is on the far right.
Picture by Polly Allen.
