The Oxford Revue Presents – Free

Alex Furrow, the compere for Oxford Revue Presents, has a lot to contend with, La Belle is a big venue and it must be difficult to pack it out with an eager crowd. Unfortunately any goodwill he manages to build is undermined by the acts on the bill.

With a bill that changes from day-to-day I’m sure you could do a lot worse than this show.

First up is Tom Dowling. He states that he is a comedy character but there is nothing to denote this other than the fact he has put on an accent.There is a lack of solid jokes to carry the set. The first character, an Irish folk musician, does a song that’s funny rather than a funny song. There are just no gags in there; at best, titter-inducing lyrics. He looks confident on stage and has potential but needs to get the basics of writing and delivering good jokes down before trying anything more experimental.

Next on the bill is Adam Mastroianni who proves to be the best the show has to offer. Clearly influenced by Woody Allen-esque stand-up, he has plenty of jokes and they come at you thick and fast. You can tell he has put in some hard graft with a pen and paper. There is an inspired fast-fire monologue near the end of his set that shows real potential. His jokes at the moment are mostly forgettable but in time I’m sure he can become a master joke writer.

George Mcgoldrick has picked a hard path for himself by performing subtle and thoughtful short stories in the key of …err Tim Key. It’s admirable but his delivery leaves a lot to be desired. He’s got a dour voice and clearly plays it up. Every paragraph of every story and poem is delivered with the exact same intonation. His performance starts to become white noise, which is a shame as I really wanted to pay attention. His material is not entirely suited for the bill he’s on but I hope he keeps plugging away.

At the end Alex Furrow rounds everything off by doing some material. It’s serviceable and easy going. He has a terrible habit of making noises directly after a punchline which can ruin the joke. Either he doesn’t have enough confidence in the material or he is worried it might offend but only the most strictest of Mormons would finding anything risqué in their. His audience interaction is really good but he often commits the sin of forgotten to repeat what the audience is saying back into the microphone.

With a bill that changes from day-to-day I’m sure you could do a lot worse than this show.