Brighton Fringe 2022
Laughing Horse Clean Pick of The Fringe
Laughing Horse
Venue: Laughing Horse at The Quadrant
Festival: Brighton Fringe
Low Down
The very best in stand-up from this year’s Brighton Fringe. This is the clean version.
It’s the same succulent smorgasbord of fantastically funny stand-up comedy headliners and the best in fresh new talent, just with the swear words taken out.
There are four different comics at each show, all selected from shows all around Brighton Fringe with something for everyone – so for the biggest laughs and best comedy acts (without a lot of the rude bits), this is the show for you!
Review
It is 2.45 on a sunny Saturday afternoon. In the upstairs room at The Quadrant there is a full house. We are here for a compilation stand-up comedy show with a difference, it’s all clean comedy!
This means there will be no rude words, nor explicit references to sex, violence or drug use. One wonders what the comedians will have left to talk about.
As a compilation show, in return for delivering a short set, which may or may not be from their show, they do get a chance to plug their act to a willing comedy audience.
The audience covers a wide age range, featuring children and adults. As you would expect for Brighton there is a diverse range of backgrounds on display. It seems there is a market for a clean comedy.
Our host for the next hour is Dave Chawner.
Dave is quick and confident, with a nice line in observational comedy. He engages in audience interaction, brings the energy up and sets the tone and structure of the show. His job is to build the atmosphere, manage the pace of the show and introduce the acts. His punchlines are well delivered and it’s clear that he is a very accomplished comedian. He seems to radiate a happy and positive outlook. He is someone who, even if you’d never met him, would be ideal company.
Ollie Horn is the opening act. It is fair to say, he is a tall comedian! Ollie is a treat. He is open, outgoing, and self-confident. He makes fun of his height and his appearance, while delivering his comedy with a twinkle in his eye. He possesses an easy, relaxed, style which is combined with original material. The delivery of his show plug is an example of this. Definitely one to watch in the future.
After a brief interlude with Dave, the next act up is, Tom Veryzer.
His adult show is called Happified, and it is easy to see why. He radiates happiness with his cheeky face and pixie costume, there is a childlike quality to Tom’s performance. He also performs as Twig the Pixie, a children’s entertainer, which accounts for the costume!
The centrepiece of his short set is an improvised story, which uses two members of the audience to provide keywords, each suggestion taking the tale in an alternative direction. Even when one of the volunteers was less than helpful, Tom remained unfazed.
This feeling of happiness echoed the theme of the afternoon, set by Dave and supported by Ollie and Tom. It was happy and fun, a delightful escape from the reality of life.
Once again Dave bounds onto the stage, improvising, keeping the flow going and introducing us to our next act, Marnie Manning.
Marnie is a bright bubbly American. She has excellent delivery skills and a confident manner. There is a difference in the way some American comedians deliver their punchlines, and I am not sure this audience was adept at making the change. Such is the nature of compilation shows that the changing delivery styles can impact the flow of material.
I felt that Marnie’s material warranted a better reception than it got.
With that, Dave was back to introduce the headline act, Donal Vaughan.
Donal is an experienced stand-up, with a wide variety of material. I first came across him as part of a very adult compilation show called, Shaggers.
Donal has a self-deprecating brand of humour, delivered with Irish charm and a dark undertone. He delivered a history lesson, about the Vikings, that provided an excellent structure for plenty of gags. He was the hit of the show. His finale was a showstopper magic trick straight from his show, Science Magic. There are adult and child versions of this.
Finally, Dave popped back to wrap everything up.
Overall this was great fun. The audience loved it, laughing all the way through. We got to see five quality comedians do their stuff. As adverts for what to spend your comedy dollars on, this was great value. Several times the comedians veered into more adult areas, but they always managed to pull themselves back. They were never inappropriate, and the parents of the children never had anything to fear. Everyone seemed to enjoy the experience.
It helped that these were all quality acts. They were experienced, had strong material and great delivery Skills. Although not billed as such, this was happy, positive comedy, a show to life the spirits and good for your mental health.
I did make one note during the show. It was to say that this is what makes stand-up comedy such an exhilarating art form. Here we are, crammed together in a room above a pub, all laughing together. This is a communal experience, a shared joy, a moment when no one is on guard nor cares what anyone else thinks, the rest of the world is on hold for an hour. We are sharing something special and laughing about it.
This show is Highly Recommended.
