6th Form Comedy Night: The Review – Alex Coplestone-Crow

6th Form Comedy Night: The Review – Alex Coplestone-Crow

On the evening of Saturday 2nd of February, the 6th form were treated to RHS’ yearly comedy night, held in the Burns Recital Hall. As such, the Bubble thought it right that we should cover the evening in the form of an informal review. This review will not be a transcript of each joke, or an in-depth analysis of each comedian’s style; it is a simple overview of the evening, aiming to put across the feel of the event, and what to expect from future comedy nights.

The night involved three set acts; two warm ups, including George Zacharopoulos and a headliner, Chris McCausland, as well as a host for the evening. Some of you may have heard of our headliner, who stared on this year’s Christmas broadcast of Live at the Apollo, and his fame is well-deserved. You may also know that Chris is blind, a fact that, hardly from preventing him from performing, Chris uses to his advantage.

The cast of Live at the Apollo this Christmas

After a glass of wine at mess, the host greeted us warmly, setting up the evening with comedy of his own, cracking jokes at subjects people were studying, and warming us up for the acts. An excellent host, he certainly made the night tick over.

The first act, George Zacharopoulos, Greek comedian of the year 2019, was an excellent first act; his jokes were ‘well-written, well-polished and well-layered’, as his Australian advertisers correctly claim. George took the audience through being a foreigner living it the UK, the mishearing and misunderstanding of English idiom – ‘let the cat out of the bag’ for example – and the stupidity of washing dishes before placing them in a dishwasher. Overall his act was highly entertaining, and was the perfect start to the evening.

George Zacharopoulos

George was followed by the second warm-up act, which certainly drew laughs from the crowd. As a one-liner comedian, this act wasn’t necessarily to the taste of the entire audience; however, his obvious awareness of the almost ‘dad-joke’ set lent itself to a sympathetic audience, and the performance grew as it progressed. The comedian used some clever audio aids, and involved elements of music, which were an innovative addition. Many of the jokes were genuinely clever, and made for a successful follow up act to George Zacharopoulos. The second act was followed by a short drinks interval, after which the headline act was staged.

Chris McCausland, born 15 June 1977, famous for his stand-up performances and appearances on children’s TV, provided the headline act on Saturday night. Having seen his Christmas TV act, it was particularly enjoyable due to the variety that Chris provided, entertaining the audience thoroughly on topics such as an audio-book version of Where’s Wally, the stupidity of Jaguar’s electric car research team, and the technology troubles faced on a daily basis in his own life. Exceptionally funny, Chris’s casual style was perfectly suited to the small crowd, and his act went down a treat, despite a dig at the acoustics of the Burns.

Chris McCausland

Overall the night was a success, with laughs a-plenty, and I can safely stay that the majority of the audience had an excellent time. I would add that the audience could have done with being slightly bigger; I would encourage as many of next year’s 6th formers to go as possible, as not only does it improve the night in general, but, if next year is as good as this time round, you should have a good time. The bubble approves.