After experiencing many different forms of comedy I have come to realise that this genre is completely broad. Comedy can derive from many forms, from sarcasm to stand up comedy. There’s black comedy to farcical comedy. One thing that’s evident is that even though most people love a good comedy they probably won’t enjoy every type. As I sat in the audience to a two part show put on at Chapter Theatre for this years Comedy Festival, I realised that I too have specific preferences on which comedy I enjoy.
As I entered into the theatre to a simplistic set with the instruments to make toast laid out on the table, I at once felt hungry. The memories I have of waking up to a piece of toast warmed me up inside. This notion is what carried the first act successfully as every person could relate in more than one way. This twenty minute skit’s premise was based on one guy who had a nasty break-up with his former-wife which escalated into having a love-affair with his toaster. It wasn’t until half way through the act that we came to find out that the toaster, ‘Tessa’ was his new girlfriend. Though absurd this may sound, the way it was performed was carefully timed to perfection. Every punch line was hit which left the audience in stitches. The actor, whose name wasn’t mentioned anywhere took the audience by storm. His story-telling was believable and the warmth he portrayed through his character gave us an insight to the barbarity of his love-affair. Even though this was a skit there were a few things that really made this piece stand out. Firstly was the smell of toast wafting through the air that made the audience long for it even more. The other was a particular line in the skit, “We objectify women all the time so why not go the whole hog and womanise objects.” This line hit me as women tend to objectified mainly in the media, making it feel like its acceptable for this to happen. This line brought a deeper meaning to the skit and left the audience questioning how we act.
The second act consisted of Velvet Trumpet’s Ken and Steve as they re-embark their journey from London to Swansea. Ken and Steve reminded me of yin and yang, both completely different in character but their chemistry worked well on stage. What started off as a multimedia performance changed to a presentation into something else entirely different. However the purpose behind this performance was never clear to me, were they trying to get us to raise more money for them? Was it to promote Ken’s new play? Was it just a stand up comedy sketch? Due to this I couldn’t get into this act. I felt the performance was hyperbolic and overly improvised. The reason could be the amount of audience interaction there was.During  one part an (un)lucky audience member got pulled up on stage and ended up taking his top off. This was to re-enact the picture presented of a semi-naked couple posing. Even though I didn’t enjoy it myself most of the audience were in stitches, it could have been my mood that day or the fact I just didn’t understand the concept of what was happening.
I can honestly say though as I sat in the audience everyone around me were fully enjoying the experience Velvet Trumpet Theatre company had to offer.