four-stars-220x45

When I was told that Comedy Soc was putting on another sketch show, I couldn’t wait to see it. After having previously reviewed Sketchpad at the beginning of this academic year, I was thrilled when I was asked to come back and review them again. I can honestly say that my high expectations were definitely met.

The night was hosted by the ever impressive Joe Hart. He continually kept the audience engaged and knew exactly when to warm the audience up for the 28 different sketches. This is no easy skill. Hart is a joy to watch.

One of my favourite sketches was the Tell Him/Tell Her sketch written by Danny McNamee. The sketch took the mickey out of the popular Facebook page of the same name. The delivery of lines, which had previously let Comedy Soc down, was near perfect. This was a theme that continued throughout the night. With practice and confidence, it shows how far the society has come on; the hard work behind the scenes does not go unnoticed.

This was proved again in the two Improv sections. These were excellently performed and I have to say were the best parts of the night. It is sometimes hard to get the audience to shout out improv ideas, however this was not the case and that is purely down to the strength of the performers. Having seen professional improv shows, I strongly believe that Comedy Soc has the potential, with a bit more practice, to compete against them. The only thing which was missed in these sections was a variation of games. It felt very much like the performers were bouncing off the audience too much, this got a bit tedious. I would’ve liked to have seen them perform together, with translation games or variations thereof.

On the whole, the writing was a vast improvement on last time, which is astounding. The clever Wall Like an Egyptian by Tom Hunt and Results Day by Liam Gardiner are testament to this, and are excellent examples of witty and clever writing. The short sketches Crimean River and NSnAp written by Hart and Marshall, even though they were close to the line, were extremely funny and provided a nice variation.

As with any sketch show, there will be good ones and others. The only reason that this show did not receive five stars is due to the fact that I simply did not find some sketches funny at all. One which stands out was Doctor Who. The crude and somewhat immature nature of the piece just didn’t fit in with the more developed sketches. I found myself cringing at some lines, and to be honest was staring at my watch waiting to see when it would end, which is not something I do lightly!

The night raised an amazing £750 for charity. The fact that there was barely an empty seat in the theatre, when many other big events were going on at the same time, is proof of Comedy Soc’s popularity and talent. The Society really has improved vastly and everyone involved should be extremely pleased. I’d like to thank the society for inviting me back, I really can’t wait to see what else they do in the near future!

Comedy Soc are hosting two more events this week as part of the Big Give, on  and .

4 Comments »

Leave your response!

  • The Urinating Pirate
    avatar

    You mean the Doctor Who sketch that got some of the biggest laughs of the night?

    Reply

  • Jed Marshall
    avatar

    Missed the show?
    Never fear, a youtube playlist is here!
    If you enjoy the comedy below make sure to donate to theBIGgive!
    http://boxoffice.susu.org/view/344/the-big-give

    Reply

    shut up love you're boring
    avatar

    I was under the impression that the soton tab charge for advertising

    Reply

    Charity Supporter
    avatar

    This is a non-profit show for RAG.

    Reply