March 31, 2018

Raw Comedy 2018: Heat 5

Neil Thornton reminds the audience, while the judges deliberate, that the performers are amateurs. We are to be nice to them, tell them they've done a good job and don't point out the comedian that was better than them. Well, hell, how am I meant to write a review after that?

Let's start by acknowledging that it takes guts to stand up in front of a room of strangers and do, well, stand up. It also takes preparation which unfortunately not all performers had done. Despite this there were only two performers who were actively boring. The female comedians seemed to be stronger, or perhaps there were just more of them, this was reflected in the final outcome; of the four moving forward three were female.

Knowing the criteria for judging may have made some sense of the judges final decisions. If it was based purely on laughs (and not the pity kind) then two of the four really deserved to be there and another performer was robbed of their place.

It's difficult to write a review with your hands tied behind your back. The night was more enjoyable, and longer, than expected. There was more laughs, more talent and more audience than anticipated. It was a good night and I saw at least one performer (ok, I'm going to name them), Jessica, who's career I'll be watching.

The final heat (6) is April 5th at the Fringe Bar.