Review: Lucy Porter headlines The Best in Comedy at The Maltings, Ely
An impressive lineup of top comedians came to The Maltings in Ely on Friday, October 7, as part of the Best in Comedy series brought to the region by the Anglia Comedy Co.
Compèred by Rich Wilson, the evening began with the seasoned comic - Best International Guest at the 2016 New Zealand Comedy Awards - using the inevitable latecomers struggling to find their seats as material (“It’s just like human Tetris”).
The 50-year-old then gave some amusing anecdotes on middle age before introducing the first act of the evening, Josh Pugh. Very much a rising star on the circuit, the English Comedian of the Year at the Udderbelly Festival in London in 2016 was absolutely hilarious from start to finish, giving interesting advice on how to fight back against a shark and offering scarily accurate observations on the British abroad.
Catch this imaginative, creative and pleasingly left-field talent when he brings his Sausage, Egg, Josh Pugh, Chips and Beans show to the Cambridge Junction next February.
Comedy is very subjective, of course, but Josh Pugh is the type of comedian who I think would have an appeal right across the board. The same could be said of the next act, proud, northern, working class gay man Stephen Bailey (also very funny indeed from start to finish), although his brand of risqué humour might not appeal to everyone. It certainly seemed to tonight, though!
After an interval, Rich Wilson returned to introduce the somewhat gentler comedy stylings of Lucy Porter, a veteran of the UK comedy circuit and a well-known face on British TV. While for me not as laugh-out-loud funny as the previous two acts, the very likeable star offered up some entertaining insights into her personal and professional life - and also looked at some of the perils of middle age.
[Read more: Rich Wilson: ‘We’ve all been heroes, we’ve all been villains’, Comedian Gary Delaney: ‘Laugh a minute? That means 80 per cent of my jokes have failed’]
The next Best in Comedy night at The Maltings, on Friday, December 2, consists of Stephen K Amos, Steve Bugeja, Chloe Petts, and Vlad Ilich. For more information, visit themaltingsely.org.uk. For more on the Anglia Comedy Co, and to view events it has going on elsewhere in the region, go to angliacomedy.com.