Jo Caulfield and Friends is something of a mis-naming, as the big name herself doesn't do a set, rather acting as MC for the night. She does sets of up to fifteen minutes before each act, starting her first stint with topics as varied as the meeting for a drink 'contract,' the joys of driving to Reading, and U2 being overrated.

Francesca Martinez is led to the stage and supports herself on a chair. Tall and thin, she describes herself as a 'wobbly comedian' and she does shake, but makes light of her Cerebral Palsy so well, it would be easy to forget she was disabled, if she ever did. But she twists the gags on it back and forth, using the analogy of someone not being good at football - 'did you have to go to special school?' 'Does that mean you can't have sex?' 'It's been inspirational meeting you…'

Her other topics include her grandmother as a contraceptive, her brother, and being a hopeless romantic. There's a slightly tired look at politics, but it leads to plenty of humour on potential abortions if the baby may grow up to be a Tory politician. She ends on a great one-liner as she combines her most confident topics - her disability, and sex.

Jo Caulfield is back, with another short set, but some great one-liners. 'I spoke to my mother today. I don't have caller ID.' She then introduces Natalie Haynes, who whooshes into her set about touring student unions, turning into her mother, and Royal Mail. She claims she'd 'rather be right than happy' and suggests bank cards follow the periodic table.

Natalie Haynes talks about swearing on stage, but promptly lifts it to something special, with a blue opera singer and the history of the C-word. She covers hating babies, starting health scares for fun, the benefits if your child is autistic, and vile parents. Since writing a children's book, she apparently has to be nice about 8-12 year olds, so teens get a quick dressing down to round off her set and the first half.

Jo Caulfield returns with a tale of an informative Scottish flasher. She then introduces Lucy Porter, who peppers her set with how 'lovely' everything is, despite how old romantic heroes 'would be on the sex offenders register now,' and the difference between romance and stalking 'is largely budget.'

Her topics include Facebook and camera-phones, dating and judging teenagers on buses. Some of her topics look likely to be standard fare, such as broodiness, but she turns that around with lines about a self-help book and fancying the man on a poster, which turns out to be and advert for young Stalin.

Lucy Porter covers men liking 'slightly mental women' but only 'slightly mental' in the right way. She shares aspects of her life that are somewhere between 'lovely' and mildly deranged, and discusses entertaining hen parties, middle class drinking, and topical politics. That leads to London's 'wankers per capita' ratio, bad dates, Heather Mills' motivations, Jade Goody and her own accidental racism.

Her finale on changing your bank's security question, to make them ask you something really stupid, with examples, ensures the perfect end to an already very funny evening.

Cast Credits: Written and performed by - Jo Caulfield. Francesca Martinez. Natalie Haynes. Lucy Porter.

Company Credits: Front of House Manager - Richard Burton. Stage Manager - Sonya Manasse. Technical Manager - Eliot Forge.

END

(c) Gill Smith 2007

reviewed Thursday 18 October 07 / The Concert Hall, Reading

Fringe Report's Reading Comedy Festival 07 coverage is organised and edited by Gill Smith.

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

www.fringereport.com