Review: David O’Doherty & others, Bristol Comedy Garden – ‘A great summer evening at The Downs’

The long-overdue proper summer weather on Friday saw many of us flock to our nearest green space for a couple of afternoon or evening drinks. On Wednesday, I’d overheard murmurs of Aisling Bea’s set from outside Bristol Comedy Garden’s fences on the Downs (reviewed by Ellie Pipe).

On Friday evening, with my glitzy press pass, I was able to get a much closer look at the comedy on offer. In fact, six rows from the front, I was a little concerned that I’d be plucked by compère Ivo Graham for some audience interaction. Luckily for me, and probably the audience, he opened the show by bantering with a few more willing participants. Graham’s quick-witted, nerdy style of comedy worked well in settling the crowd, who lapped up his sharp retorts to the cheekier members of the audience.

After Graham’s opening half-hour, locally-born comedian-cum-TV presenter Joel Dommett took to the stage in a confident set. Dommett took us through his experiences hosting The Masked Singer, recounting how after Alan Johnson (former Home Secretary) was revealed as one of the singers, he had to rely on the producers to be able to name him: “I thought he just looked like a friend of my dad’s”.

The Comedy Garden at night – photo: Lloyd Winters

Recently crowned Taskmaster champion Sophie Duker was next up, performing a routine that explored being back on stage in front of a full audience post-pandemic, stating “Covid has become like Enrique Iglesias, it’s around but nobody cares”. Although Duker’s punchlines did sometimes fall a little flat, her charisma and excellent comic timing more than made up for it.

Rose Matafeo performed probably the least polished set of the evening, relying on her notes to fulfil her time-slot. Still, her likeability let her get away with it, and it was easy to buy into her chaotic comedy persona.

With comedy gigs, it’s sometimes hard to tell whether the last comedian in the line-up is really funny, or whether the alcohol’s helping you along. On Friday, there was no such ambiguity – headliner David O’Doherty gave easily the best routine of the night. Underneath his conversational nonchalance, his was a well-rehearsed set that ended the night on a high.

Revellers enjoying the Comedy Garden – photo: Lloyd Winters

O’Doherty also had one of the best received one-liners of the evening, as he told us that the singer Cher was in fact married to comedian Ross Noble, which is why she only goes by her first name…

This was a line-up that had something for everyone, from the camp performance put in by Dommett, to the delightfully frenzied Matafeo. Throw in the great food and drink options at the festival and the 25 degree weather, it was a great summer evening at the Downs.

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Main photo: 57 Festivals

Read more: The Downs gets set to host Bristol Comedy Garden 2022

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