Comedy Mayhem @ Bar 50

Review by Cara McGuigan | 15 Aug 2011

Comedy Mayhem is an odd mix of a show, with five amateur comedians finding their feet to varying degrees of success.

Forcefully flirtatious (and LOUD) compere Liam C McKay happily disregards gender when picking his victims, which makes for a funny if uncomfortable glue. David Baddiel lookalike Francis Foster gives a nice line in speccy desperado, and his enthusiasm is contagious. Saban Kazim seems the least well prepared, but his anecdotes about his Turkish family, delivered with a constant grin, are gently amusing. Phil O’Shea has a touch of the Ross Nobles about him: a shambolic liar with big sad eyes, the nonsense that comes out his mouth is surreal verging on demented (in a pretty good way). Next up is Dean Roberts, specialising in short laddish gags which were a bit sexist for my taste.

However, the final act really was a surprise – Finn from Hollyoaks, James Redmond. Blessed with an interesting perspective for original comedy, he uses this to his advantage, and his timing and delivery, as you would hope from a longtime jobbing actor, are spot on. However, his material based on his idiot friend Barry is his best stuff.

Good luck to them all.