Compere Charlie Baker bounces on stage and announces that Reading Comedy Festival's comedy competition final is the result of two heats to ensure the best new acts around. He also introduces the judges. The panel, who sit to one side, are Heather Thomas from Reading Borough Council, Franck Marceteau of the Reading Evening Post, Dan Harris of the Reading Hexagon Theatre and local DJs, 2-Ten FM’s Foxy and Tom.

The first act up is Ed O'Meara. He covers subjects from amateur mugging to judging other people on buses and trains, to his communist father’s style of playing Monopoly, all done with good humour and a cheeky smile.

Next is Helen Huscroft, a schoolteacher with a range of subjects including sex education, head teachers, Christmas presents from kids and ending the school year, finishing on a strong line about swearing at the kids.

James Mason kicks off the local material insulting Reading, his nearby hometown Wokingham, and Bracknell. He covers his comic short-comings, apparently a lack of a punch lines or mother-in-law. He doesn’t seem to need either, as despite indifferent seeming delivery, his material on broken text messages had plenty of humour.

David Meech starts off with another local gag, before moving on to his West Country heritage, and gay references. He has entertaining thoughts on politicians trying to be celebrities, and those trying to protect Cornish culture.

Charlie Baker calls an interval, which runs to around 25 minutes. He returns to introduce this half’s first act, Stuart Laws, whose fun topics include annoying old people at funerals, what a person’s favourite animal says about them, and random fears – leaving a great image of Blu-Tac as Smurf hit-men.

Dylan Bray is next on stage, explaining how he’d like to do self-deprecating humour, but he’s too great. He covers taking insults as compliments, and lacking self-awareness, before making gags about a friend’s age-gap dating, and school discos when you’re in your thirties.

AJ Eccleston bounds on stage and announces that he’s rubbish. His material on scientific discoveries doesn’t do much to dispel that idea. His material on conscious animals, with a hint at Disney, has some potential, along with moral vegan lions, but his plastic surgery bit dips, and he ends on a low.

Charlie Baker picks the mood back up with gags on how to respond to passing hearses, before bringing on Tyson Boyce. He describes himself as seeming to be ‘a psychotic version of Orlando Bloom,’ and talks about his Australian childhood, being friends with Goths and ends by discussing speaking Icelandic, which he possibly does, with what seems to be the Orlando Bloom gag again.

The judges deliberate, while last year’s competition winner, Andrew Watts keeps the entertainment going. He gives advice on answering questions about women’s clothes, and listening to women to get laid, which convolutedly leads to a great McCartney-Mills gag. His finale is an enjoyable bit about currently popular neuro-linguistic programming, complete with entertaining demo.

The judges return, and Charlie Baker announces James Mason as winner, although there’s disorganisation as to what then happens. Finally, Charlie Baker rounds things off with a mass game of heads or tails, and an audience winner goes away a pound richer.

Cast Credits: Written and performed by (alpha order): Charlie Baker. Tyson Boyce. Dylan Bray. AJ Eccleston. Helen Huscroft. James Mason. David Meech. Ed O’Meara. Andrew Watts.

Company Credits: Technical - Charity Gordon.

END

(c) Gill Smith 2007

reviewed Saturday 13 October 07 / 21 South Street Arts Centre, Reading

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

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2008