Crunch the News is a panel show in the vein of shows such as Radio 4’s News Quiz and Have I Got News For You. The line up varies day-to-day, and features Grainne Maguire as a host, with three panelists, usually comedians, from shows around the festival. These four then discuss various news stories, infusing them with their own material and wit, and a fair amount of audience participation.
Topics are clearly wide-ranging, and the panelists themselves are in varying degrees of confidence: the show was sometimes dangerously close to simply being a few people chatting about the news rather than comedians doing their job, and lacked the energy and preparedness of more polished shows of this type. That said, Crunch the News is definitely entertaining, and if nothing else, provides a nice showcase for other comedians at the festival, allowing them to attract an audience and for the audience to find shows they want to see.
The final section of the show simply consisted of each comedian doing a short section from their standup routines. If the show was not a publicity opportunity before, it definitely is now. While this is somewhat shameless, it keeps the show going nicely and provides a nice change from the slightly tired news-panel genre that is so common nowadays.This show is a worthy free alternative to other similar shows and, as long as it keeps the strength of the panel at a fair high level, there is every reason to go to Crunch the News.