Write-up by guest MC Lucy Jenner.
Lovely night at The Royal George with not one but two MCs.
Opening the first half was Lucy Jenner. First up was Fred Dibnah superfan Pete Kinsella, aka Big Unit. Then came Sam Day — Temu’s Ed Sheeran but actually Robbie Williams’ number one fan and a one-handed Phil Collins tribute act. Martina O’Sullivan followed with her love-hate relationship with the English, especially their funeral etiquette. Tony Carr was next, admitting he nearly didn’t start comedy in case people laughed at him — thankfully, they didn’t at his first gig. Elle Simmons brought some class to the night — her parents wanted a Ninja Turtle, got a comedian instead. Then came the boss man Raj Kukadia with tales of his family business, where mum’s on the till and nan’s unloading the van. Elizabeth Leff gave us the lowdown on the chaos of back-to-school shopping — very different vibes on either side of the Atlantic. Nick Bain was up next with the theory that Labubu’s are just Care Bears on coke. Closing the first half was Seam Anderson, caught between mindfulness and a bit of light shoplifting.
Martin Ashworth then took over the hosting duties for the second half.
After the break we had Calvin Smith, who shared the sweet story behind his name and the not-so-sweet story behind his nickname. Then Sudeepta Sanyal came , who told us why he doesn’t want to fall in love with people who live in Croydon. Jordan Bonner was next, battling a fading voice while enjoying the supposed benefits of talking in higher registers. Aarian Mehrabani followed with the sharp tale of a blind man navigating sexual health tests, before Helena Moody wondered aloud what straight women are really up to. Selena Kelly had the crowd laughing about the perils of red lemonade, and Dan Grennan explored the drawbacks of having a double-barrelled name. Chris Ford kept things rolling with a hilarious take on why he definitely doesn’t go to a sex club that opens at midnight. Finally, Richard Wheatley closed the night in style, with his brilliant story about watching Game of Thrones with his mum providing audio description. It was the perfect ending to a brilliant night, sending the audience home buzzing.