Review: StandOut StandUp Slapstick Fundraiser

“I challenge you to think of a more deserving cause to raise money for,” says our host Jack Dee, tongue planted firmly in cheek. Tonight, Colston Hall is packed for a fundraiser for Bristol Slapstick Festival 2017. They have indeed spoilt us with a stellar line up of comics and Dee is the perfect compere. So embedded is his grumpy persona that all he has to say to raise the first laugh of the evening is “I’m delighted to be here”.

Although opener Richard Herring is now perhaps better known for his podcasting (he’s currently raised over £40k from fan donations to make more), his stand-up is as strong as ever. Verging on the deliberate gross-out, he throws around terms like ‘sexual excrement’ (or children as they are sometimes known), much to the delight of the audience.

Tony Hawks is up next. He gets plenty of mileage out of his confusion with pro skateboarder Tony Hawk by giving us his favourite exchanges with American teenagers who have emailed the wrong bloke. His musical comedy, however, is hit and miss. His format of taking apart songs with ridiculous lyrics sometimes lands – but feels more cabaret than stand-up.

Then comes the biggest delight of the evening as Radio 4 comedian Pippa Evans bounds onto the stage. She explains that “Radio 4 is a station for people who don’t like to be entertained” – yet her set is a 100mph whirlwind of music and comedy. She sings songs about becoming “the white wine witch” after finishing the third bottle of an evening. The line “life is such a thrill when you’re downing Blossom Hill” seems to resonate a little too well with my companion. Elsewhere, Evans’ set-ending pastiche of musicals is a delight.

After the break we welcome our second self-professed ‘highbrow Radio 4 comedian’ in the shape of 4ft 11in Susan Calman. Her self-deprecating turn mixes tales of the mundane with showbiz anecdotes from her appearances on Celebrity University Challenge and QI. Calman is clearly struggling to adjust to her new-found fame. She describes sitting between Stephen Fry and Sandi Toksvig as someone taking two slices of artisan bread and putting a Dairylea slice in the middle. A smart, likeable comic, Calman’s set is full of charm.

Our final act is Jason Manford. Years ago I saw him at the Hen & Chicken, where he regaled us with a story about his first gig aged 17 at his local comedy club. Nowadays, he’s more accustomed to arena gigs, book deals and belting out show tunes in musicals. Those early comedy-club days still serve him well, though, as he proves the slickest turn of the night. His material covers pretty familiar ground for observational comics – families, kids in supermarkets and driving – but its energy and wit sustains it well.

The night draws to a happy close as Dee reminds us about the Slapstick Festival and its other upcoming fundraisers. As he puts it so eloquently, we need to make sure there’s money for the next generation to learn how to put up wallpaper incorrectly. 

Stand Out Stand Up was at Colston Hall on Wednesday, September 14. The next Slapstick fundraiser is at Colston Hall on Thursday, September 29, featuring John Cleese, Rory Bremner, Barry Cryer, Tim Vine and others. For more info and to book tickets, visit www.colstonhall.org/shows/john-cleese-neil-innes-barry-cryer-friends