A glance down the list of previous winners proves in an instant the pedigree of this long-running new comedy award - Stewart Lee, Ardal O’Hanlon, Ronni Ancona, and Linda Smith are all names who at some point claimed the top prize.
For those who went away from this year’s competition empty handed, there is some consolation. The list of past losers is perhaps even more illustrious - Russell Brand, Catherine Tate, Ben Miller and Simon Amstell are all among those who have missed out on collecting the trophy, only to see their careers flourish regardless. So win or lose, it’s a big night.
The format is simple - 16 acts, doing a five-minute comedy, or eight-minute variety act each, judged by a panel of 15 industry professionals. This year’s crop of mainly stand-ups had all won through heats held at London comedy venues to face a full-house at the Hackney Empire and compete for one of the top three places. The audience could not be disappointed - the standard was largely very impressive.
Overall winner Fergus Craig, however, deserved the top spot. Self-consciously playing with the conventions of stand-up comedy, his set was an inventive breath of fresh air, while never forgetting to be funny. Within his five minutes he packed in strong, conventional gags as well as more surreal, whimsical observations, all confidently knitted together.
A highlight was Craig’s routine on putting on weight, stating he’d gone from skinny kid to podgy adult without realising, and must have been buff for an hour in between. Also yielding big laughs were his self-deprecating lines on the recent Jim Carrey film ‘Yes Man’ - were Craig to say yes to everything in his life, he stated, he’d just end up going to the odd shit party, or helping a friend to move house.
Craig had the pace, warmth and variety in his material to make his set the one you would most look forward to seeing extended. If his jokes about ‘finding his voice’ hinted at anything, it was the scope for him to define his niche even more clearly and hone his comedy. On the night, he looked shocked to win, but shouldn’t have been - with killer lines, great delivery and a delightful dollop of surprises, Craig was class.
Brighton’s Seann Walsh was a memorable runner-up. Walsh put a truly personal stamp on the competition, and scored some of the biggest laughs of the night. His ‘slacker’ persona stood out from the pack, and felt like the basis for an enduring and popular stand-up act, so long as the material backs it up all the way.
His opening lines on getting mistaken by a homeless person for being a homeless person were genius, and won the Empire crowd over with ease. It looked for a while like Walsh had it all sewn up, but while his conviction never faltered, his last routine let him down. A story about getting caught by his girlfriend’s dad nicking salami was told with finesse, but lacked the punch-line to seal the deal.
Nevertheless, Walsh deserves to be one of those Hackney runners-up who still breaks-through - slightly tighter material and there’ll be no stopping him.
Equally distinctive and supremely confident was third-place runner-up David James. James played it dead-pan all the way, and got consistent laughs.
Launching straight into a routine about Mozart taking a long-haul flight, James really hit his stride with his story about not understanding how cash-back works. As he talked us through the exchange between the silver-haired James and the slang-talking supermarket cashier, it felt like the birth of a genuinely original comedy voice.
While his dry, detached delivery is undoubtedly part of his appeal, James could relax a touch, draw in the audience a little more, and give his persona more depth. The transition between routines was also a bit too abrupt. Still, really enjoyable stuff.
Missing out on the prizes but making an impact was the only sketch act of the night, six-strong female group Lady Garden. Hampered a little by microphone issues and perhaps the size of the venue, their punchy material and confident performances won through regardless. The top and tail of their set proved most successful, with a sketch ridiculing vintage clothing building very nicely, and all the girls mimicking some lads ‘on tour’ showing impressive acting range. One of the group’s strongest performers is also one of Jennifer Saunders and Adrian Edmondson’s daughters - a new comedy dynasty looks on the cards.
Still at school, and just 18 years old, Ahir Shah was another stand-out finalist. Uber-confident, and armed with some great lines on culture, race, and Facebook, Shah looked like he had the right stuff to succeed. While his confidence was a huge asset, if anything, his set felt a little too forced, and he could gain a lot from sitting back a little and letting the crowd warm to him. Impressive performance, nonetheless.
Also deserving of a mention was neurotic, experimental ‘improviser’ Jim Park. The improvising tuned out to be a neat device to wrap up a string of strong, traditional gags - a crowd favourite being a line on anal bleaching leading to a ‘ringtone’ pun. Credit to Park for trying to build an original act, although on the night it didn’t quite land, and felt a bit muddled. As far as good solid jokes go, a highlight.
Worth a final nod were two more acts, both showing good potential, just rough around the edges. Self-confessed disaster zone Colin Owens had some memorable stories, but just lacked piercing jokes. Sparky Irish female comedian Grainne Maguire had two killer routines - on period drama drunks and pregnancy tests - and with a few more like those she could have a winning act.
As for the rest, MC Arthur Smith seemed bitterly disappointed there wasn’t a crash and burn this year, although one or two did look relieved just to have survived the experience. With such a high standard, and some real flashes of brilliance, no doubt we will see several of these acts go on to success. Remember their names - especially with the forthcoming launch of The Stage’s new booktheact.com service, all these new performers could be at a comedy gig near you very soon.
Production information can change over the run of the show.
Content is copyright © 2012 The Stage Media Company Limited unless otherwise stated.
All RSS feeds are published for personal, non-commercial use. (What’s RSS?)
