The future stand-up stars of tomorrow? Emma McAlpine reviews the final of the 5th annual Tickled Pig student comedy competition.
Student comedy often gets a bed rep, but it’s not all ‘you had to be there’ stories about late night kebabs, gap yahs and urinating in public. At the second Grand Final night of the Tickled Pig stand-up competition, open to students from Leeds, Leicester and Birmingham University, there are thoughtful routines about S&M sex, virginity and some rather esoteric conspiracy theories. Compere Robbie Ormrod does a fine job of warming up the crowd, dealing with a ‘heckley bastard’ in the front row (perha[s the most good-natured and encouraging heckler I've come across), before introducing us to the eight finalists.
First up is Chris Bates from Derby, with perhaps the most student-y routine. One of his opening jokes about taking his girlfriend to see Batman on their ninth date is good; it's just a pity it had done the rounds on Twitter the week before. It made me wonder where the rest of his one-liners came from. There’s a 'getting arrested for pissing in public' anecdote (well, there had to be one didn’t there) and a drawn out story about bumping into a woman in a supermarket, the punch line to which sadly lacks the payoff.
Much more promising is Jacob Rawcliffe, who ends up coming second in the competition. “I’m painfully alternative as you can see,” he tells us, gesturing to his punk look. His set is a mixture of punny one-liners, self-deprecating anecdotes and whimsy. There’s a good routine about his unintentional virginity and Ben Fogle’s never-ending quest for self-discovery. With a well-paced, laid-back and confident delivery style; Rawcliffe is definitely one to watch.
Next act Jack Campbell has ‘compere’ written all over him. Immediately striking up a rapport with heckley bastard – “It’s been a while dad” – his banter is so sharp and off-the-cuff that it takes a whole for us to realise they’re actually not related. As most of his set hinges on improvising with the audience’s reactions, it’s hard to get much of a reading on his material, but his final gag about accidentally sending his landlord a kiss in a text message, leaves you in no doubt to his stand-up abilities. He is duly rewarded with third place in the competition.
Richard Higgs is an intriguing performer, but doesn’t quite pull it off tonight. His pre-amble about how well the previous night’s gig went is hard for anyone to relate to, and he throws a lot of ideas out there without punchlines or discernible humour. In a convoluted, stream-of-consciousness monologue, he covers time travel, doing acid, why he’s a comedian and a poem by an autistic child, which is all sounds quite interesting but isn’t coherent or amusing enough. His big reveal, that he’s been doing observational comedy about observational comedy, goes some way to explaining the previous ten minutes of nonsense, but he’s missing the point of comedy altogether – make ‘em laugh!
Sam Chaplin has a nice line in prop-based jokes and whimsy, reimagining his ipod earphones as tiny defibrillators for mice. Observations about the fog-based security system in Tescos (“What next? Locusts in Asda?”), and his name being an anagram of ‘anal chimps’ however, aren’t quite as strong. He redeems himself with his finale joke: a delightful bit of wordplay that is both silly and clever.
Overall winner of the competition, gay Leeds student Callum Scott is undoubtedly an exhilarating new voice. Dressed in “varying shades of grey”, he brilliantly debunks gay stereotypes (“You can’t tell someone’s gay from looking at them, that’s why it’s called coming out”). A particular highlight sees him discuss his penchant for S&M sex, right through to its hideously degrading aftermath – the “disassembly stage”. Totally at ease on stage and with the most well-constructed set of the night, he’s a worthy winner.
The only musical comic to make it through to the final is Joby Mageean. Armed with a ukulele, his songs range from the crude to the whimsically banal. A hi-octane, noisy act, his songs tend to take on a Nick Helm approach, progressing from a soft croon to an angry yell. He has a good grasp of physical comedy too, personifying energy drinks from the aptly-titled ‘Boost’ to the more ambiguous ‘Emerge’.
The last act of the competition is Pete Allatt. Embracing the current trend for interactive character comedy, he’s assured at talking to the audience but could do with sharpening up his responses. His camp German character is too one-dimensional, and following on from Callum Scott’s routine about gay stereotypes, sits rather awkwardly with the audience. Impressions of Brian Cox and David Attenborough are more warmly received but if he wants to make it as a character comic, he needs to do a lot more work on his own creations.
All in all, it’s been a high standard of student comedy in tonight’s final, and a promising glimpse of what’s to come on the stand-up circuit. And there was only one story about getting drunk and urinating in public. Not bad.
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