Fringe venue behemoth Laughing Horse present a mixed bag of comedy upstairs at the Quadrant hosted by mentalist magician Mr. Pete Campbell Wells. After some fairly forced and awkward chatter, we were treated to some mind-bending feats that were professionally delivered with gentle mesmerising patter. While fun and genuinely tricksy, this was nothing new and Campbell Wells bowed out to polite applause.
Next up was relative newcomer and one to watch, Sean McLoughlin. His set offered some fine laughs in a tight set riffing on his lack of funds and obscurity on the comedy circuit which left me wanting more. His original and personal subject matter comes at a jaunty angle just short of bitterness and, luckily, firmly on the funny side. Excellent, honest stuff.
Londoner Nick Coppin came in with a chipper set full of gusto, pulling the audience on a tour of excellent accents with genial charm, playing on his Anglo-Barbadian heritage perhaps for lack of more substantial material. His likeable and matey chatter carried the audience happily through the short routine with some decent gags and riding on a wave of general good feeling.
The night experienced a curve ball with the next guest, the enigmatic and inebriated Paul Vickers. An absolute loon of a comedian, Vickers steered the audience with The Wheel of Early Sexual Experiences, draped with curious tales of sexy snails on the beach at Great Yarmouth and masturbating on the main mast. While I was hoping for more audience participation (Vickers simply reads out pre-prepared stories according to the selected knickers) his insistence to not make any sense is refreshing in a world of same-y observational comedy.
Last up was a slick set from comedian and actor Matt Green. In his best suit (‘like a teenager at a funeral’) he took the tiny stage with utter confidence and delivered consistently, with innovative jokes ranging from linguistic quirks resulting in the Aussie many ranges of ‘mate’ as compared to our myriad ‘sorrys’ to the disturbing trend of friends having their children as their profile pictures. His style is possibly more suited to larger venues though, as the small stage cramped his Rowan Atkinson-esque gestures. This Laughing Horse needs some room to run!
