Colchester Fringe Festival 2024
Low Down
A collection of up-and-coming comedians from London take the stage with great humor, stories, and jokes.
Review
I made a mistake seeing this show—an amateurish mistake, really. Under no circumstances should you tell the comedians that you are reviewing their show when they pick on you during crowd work. Maybe as a reviewer, I need to work on being less noticeable in the crowd but its hard to hide away when you’re laughing so much.
Other Side Comedy was a great mix of up-and-coming comedians. The audience was warm and friendly in Patch, hyped for the first day of Colchester Fringe. Henry Reilly served as a great MC on the microphone. His performance style was cheesy, dry, and laid-back. He had a particular knack for crowd work, the hardest of the stand-up skills due its unpredictability. That said, Reilly was a natural at it.
Matt Healy then took the stage and talked about his weight loss journey. In particular, his quip regarding his friend’s condescending attitude: “I lost weight, not the ability to feel,” got a huge laugh from the audience. Matt was relatable and confident on stage, and while he did offer me a fiver as he left (which I refused), it was not needed. It was great performance.
Next, Lydia Cashman was a breath of fresh air, coming in with a bubbly and excitable demeanor, a strong contrast to the more dry style of comedy Healy and Reilly excelled in. She undoubtedly had the biggest laugh from the evening with a hilarious barrister vs. barista joke. This joke made Jenna Saiz-Abo Henriksen, who owns and runs Patch where today’s performance was, fall to the floor in laughter. Cashman had incredible facial expressions and the killer timing of a seasoned comedian or serial killer.
Desmond Craddock, who will be MC’ing the show on Saturday, had a rougher time with the audience. He had a dry humor and described himself as looking and being Ned Flanders. His jokes on interracial relationships just did not land with the audience in attendance where it might have in London.
Lastly, Jordan Gill wrapped up the evening with a fast-paced run of jokes about running, WhatsApp groups, and delivery drivers. Gill has a natural charisma and quickly got the audience on his side. He closed out an already great evening and got some last few chuckles in. Gill is one to watch.
This was a great mix of comedians and I highly recommend catching any of them wherever they perform next.
