I am a bad feminist. I really struggle to find a lot of women funny, and so as a huge comedy fan, it pains me to say that an awful lot of my favourites are male. And I think this is due to content – I struggle to resonate with men bashing, with talk of kids and marriage and generally ‘being a hard done by woman’ that seems to be an approach by a lot of female comedians. I want us to be championed, not to justify stereotypes of moaning females.

And so enter Lucy Frederick. Yes she talks about being a woman. Yes she talks about men and relationships. And the twist of this and something that I have never seen before is how she talks about becoming a step parent. And she approaches all of these in a refreshing, funny and relatable way.

Now I am not a mother nor a step mother, but somehow being an outsider hearing her experiences and approaches to the new way of life is really informative, and anyone who has worked with children can resonate a little more with this – there’s a similarity in it.

Frederick is a hilarious and loveable woman. She does not care what others think and is confident about her performance and herself on stage. She is very likeable, she interacts with us as if we are friends and really does engage us with the jokes, the content and with her personality.

Frederick is a breath of fresh air, a genuinely funny person and really needs to be given the chance to shine to larger audiences.

(3 / 5)

Now this is going to be a hard review to write. How do you
write a review when everything goes wrong, no fault of the performer?

Unfortunately for Ange Lavoipierre, technology was the devil
for her tonight.

Final Form is a comedy show involving a cello, Lavoipierre’s
past and present, her likes and dislikes as well as being open, raw and
entirely loveable. Her approach to making her life comical is absurd but
likeable and unlike any other.

But this was severely tampered with with the consistent tech
malfunctions. Lavoipierre does well to laugh it off, continue when possible and
use her natural comedic talent to keep the ball rolling. Her interaction with
us is constant, warming and we are all there rooting for her.

From tales of snail massacre, to what she really wants in a
man, Lavoipierre’s sense of humour is dark, unapologetic and damn right funny. We
feel apart of a group and her friendly and confident personality makes us feel
safe in her cocoon of an unusual life.

She’s not afraid to be vulnerable when things go wrong; but
when they go right, they are excellent.

She has a fresh approach to female comedy, which is great to
see; touching upon relationships, marriage and children, somehow it feels more
fresh and a little less of what many female comedians can fall short with by
bashing ticking clocks and men in general.

Ange Lavoipierre is lovely, friendly and definitely funny. It was just a real shame that tonight was when everything went wrong for her. I urge you to check her out, as her recovery over these obstacles shows that she has a real talent for comedy.

(2 / 5)

This may be an odd title for a 19 year old to name his show.
Why would you retire comedy at such a young age?

Andrew White opens up to us, and becomes vulnerable before
our eyes with the truth about his title. After a bad gig, admitting he was not
right for that audience and of which was due to a booking mistake, White
explains to us through honesty and comedy about how this has rocked him,
leaving him to consider whether comedy is for him or whether a stint in
University is more sensible.

We learn a lot about White – his personal life, his ever
changing fight with his own confidence and we see him battle with this on stage
as he produces his acceptance letter to do communications at Cardiff
University.

At first this reveal of the letter and his sub sequential
decision to pursue comedy instead, seems very premature into the proceedings
and feels as if he has already revealed his trump card. But this continues onto
a series of ever changing decisions, revealing more and more letters, said to
be his acceptance. This is a fun approach, and feels as if we are contemplating
the decision with him.

White does seem a little nervous on stage. Understandably,
stand-up comedy and at the fringe where there is much competition is a tough
business and again, we forgive the lack of confidence but will him to continue.
Unfortunately this therefore makes his delivery feel more of a TED talk than a
comedy set, but we are interested none the less, with comical interludes.

Andrew White: Retirement Tour is an interesting comedy set – we follow him on his battling life decisions and feel honoured to go through this sequence with him. With some great jokes involved, White could go a long way with a little more confidence in his delivery. 

(2 / 5)

Do you recognise the title? Here Comes Your Man comes from a
famous Pixie’s song to which our comedian for the night thought was all about
love. Yet he has a sore realisation that it is about a murderous homeless
person.

So how does he turn this around? Matt Hoss the hopeless
romantic bears his soul to us for comedy, telling us about his relationship
fails and his hopes for the future.

Matt Hoss is a rapid speaker and at times it we lose the
train of thought slightly. This can only be put down to nerves, which we
appreciate and are happy to stick with for a funny man.

You cannot help but feel for Hoss – we have all been there,
and it being rare for a man to feel so much and to be romantic – any lady would
be happy to have him. But his tales are not unusual, but the way he has twisted
it and to create a show from it, is.

To turn this into comedy for our enjoyment is brave; he is comical, lovable and fun to be in a room with.

With a little more confidence, Matt Hoss could go far. He is worth checking out for all those who have loved and lost, and need that pick me up!