Comedy / bristol comedy garden
Review: Bristol Comedy Garden: Watson / Lycett / Acaster / Robins
The opening night of Bristol Comedy Garden 2017 has a decidedly local feel as John Robins (our MC for the night, a role he handles superbly) proclaims how happy he is to be back in his hometown. “What’s changed?” he asks. “We’ve got a fake mayor now,” comes the curt reply. Bristol politics dealt with succinctly, we move onto the first act.
John Robins
This comes in the shape of James Acaster, who meanders onto stage clutching a large ring binder. It’s clear from the off this is something different. “I’ve got ten minutes of material on bread in a minute,” he declares. He’s not kidding and it’s one of the highlights of his acerbic slot as he compares bread types through his extensive bread research. It takes a special type of comedy brain to pull off stand-up like this. Acaster doesn’t tread the familiar observations, instead preferring his own constructions to generate the laughs. A formidable talent.
James Acaster
Next up is Joe Lycett, arguably the comedian with the most accelerated rise to fame tonight. He’s the first to mention the giant comedic elephant in the room: the election. Sadly, it doesn’t quite land and wisely he moves on. Thankfully, Lycett’s been in the game long enough that this early misstep is quickly forgotten, as he floats effortlessly between the rest of his material. After countless YouTube hits on his various letters and complaints he knows this is his strong suit, giving us a masterclass on how to troll an EDL Facebook page. He gives the people what they want.
is needed now More than ever
Joe Lycett
Our headliner is another local, in the shape of bearded and bespectacled Mark Watson (pictured top), who still gets mistaken for David Baddiel – even at Temple Meads, his “home patch”. He jokes about the anxiety of seeing younger comedians surpass his level of fame, including a dream where a bus with Russell Howard’s face on runs him over. The material is funny and he says it doesn’t bother him – but you can’t help but wonder. Methinks the comedian doth protest too much. He needn’t worry though, as his warm and approachable style mixed with his sharp observations of family life will keep the audiences coming back better than any panel show.
Bristol Comedy Garden continues until Sunday, June 18. For more info and to book tickets, visit www.bristolcomedygarden.co.uk
Read more: Preview: Bristol Comedy Garden
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