Review – The Comedy Crate and Northampton Comedy Festival present Finlay Christie and Larry Dean, Work in Progress, The Lamplighter, Northampton, 27th July 2026

Unsurprisingly, the Lamplighter was sold out last night as those nice people at the Comedy Crate spoiled us with another opportunity to witness two young masters of the comedic art sharpening their knives on their material in preparation for their Edinburgh Fringe runs in August.

First up was Finlay Christie, making final adjustments for his Edinburgh show, Champagne Casanova, at the Monkey Barrel from 3^rd to 30^th August. The message of his new show is essentially to beware flattery, a lesson he seems to have learned the hard way. Mr C riffs off his private education background – wise to address that issue in the early stages – and then launches into a few hair-raising sequences, including the lengths you can go to participate in crime in New Orleans, and how to put the North into North Korea. He explains his gratitude for billionaires, and the appropriateness of being congratulated on the size of one’s manhood. Seemingly effortless on stage, he’s always super engaging and likeable, exuding a natural confidence which is constantly being challenged by a delightful hint of self-deprecation. The show is pretty much Fringe-ready, and I’m sure it will be a big hit.

After the interval, it was time for Larry Dean, honing his ideas in preparation for his Edinburgh show, Hellbent, at the Pleasance Courtyard from 5^th to 30^th August (8^th, 10^th and 11^th are already sold out). A marvellous comedy presence on stage, he gets great humour out of his intimidating appearance – those eyes could unsettle you for days – whilst actually being a kindly, people-pleasing soul who wouldn’t want you to go away with a bad impression of Scotland. The main thrust of this new show is his rather tortuous path to getting married – to Michael, cue one of Mr D’s amazingly funny accents, outrageous Black Country. En route, we discover why Stage 1 Autism is called Stage 1 Autism, how a haunted house can rescue you from a lawsuit, and what it was like to meet the King at the Royal Variety. Iranian relatives and an innocent question about a gay couple by an 8-year-old also play a part. Larry Dean enjoys himself tremendously on stage and his enthusiasm spreads to us all; you’ve never a moment’s doubt that you’re in the presence of a true master of comedy. He’s going to go down a storm at the Fringe!

One more Edinburgh preview show coming up on Thursday before the comedy world decamps to the Scottish capital!