It’s another regular Thursday night at the Bradlaugh and a full house to boot, which always oomphs the atmosphere up a bit. For this month’s extravaganza those nice people at the Comedy Crate booked a terrific line up of comedians, two of which we’d seen before and two whose faces were as fresh as daisies (to us, anyway.)
Our host for the evening was Tom Toal, whom we last saw in the very same venue eleven months ago providing the very same service! And he’s a true master of the art. As well as getting to know key members of the audience, such as the two M&S food auditors (nice work if you can get it), reticent front row James, pirate Tariq and university lecturer Marco, he also told us about his unexpected new best friend and the joys of seeing women’s football at Charlton Athletic. A very safe pair of hands, he kept the evening moving at an excellent pace and contributed much more to our enjoyment than your average MC.
We hit the ground running on a total high with our first act, Lindsey Santoro, who never fails to delight with her bold but completely recognisable material. She’s one of those comedians who tackles those areas where angels fear to tread – why she is a failed lesbian, everything you wanted to know about breast feeding but were afraid to ask, and ending with a riotous sequence about smear tests. Her great trick is to appeal directly to the women in the audience with her choice of topics, whilst never alienating the men because it’s all so understandable and relatable. She has an immensely likeable stage presence and kicked the night off like a dream.
Our second act, and new to us, was Jack Skipper; very well-known, I understand, in TikTok circles, which is something of which I know nothing. He has a great story about being recognised from his online work whilst doing his old day job of carpet fitting – one of the best in Croydon and its environs, according to Trustpilot. He has an easy way about him and is very engaging with his entertaining material, including his plans to take revenge on his children in the future, and he’s excellent when relating the highs and lows of co-existing with his workmates. I thought that perhaps his set could have been a little more finely structured so that he ended it on a high; the last five minutes or so just slowed down to a gently ambling conclusion. But there’s a lot of great material there.
Our headliner, and also new to us, was Dan Tiernan; and if you enjoy your comedy with a laid back, relaxed, sophisticated style, Dan’s not your man. He’s dyspraxic, and not afraid to exploit it for every possible comedic opportunity. As a result, he spends most of his time on stage thumping and jumping around like a naughty ten-year-old who’s had way too much sugar before bedtime; but it does also make you think that maybe that imaginary ten-year-old isn’t really naughty – he has dyspraxia. Lurking behind that frenetic exterior is a wealth of fantastic material and some of his lines are absolute killers – I especially liked his explanation for why watching porn has ruined him. He doesn’t appeal to everyone, but if you like his style, you’ll love his act.
Plenty more Comedy Crate gigs coming up in the next few weeks – sadly, we can’t manage some of them but we’re looking forward to the next Bradlaugh night on 14th March!