Colin Somerville reviews three previous winners of So You Think You're Funny?
DAVID O'DOHERTY- Let's Comedy, Stand 3
Star rating *****
Like Dylan in the sixties, O'Doherty has gone electric, but he is talking toothbrushes, not guitars. His musical weapon of choice has always been the budget electronic keyboard, but like Billy Connolly's banjo, it has become a peripheral part of an act that has developed into a casual comic tour de force.
If there is any loose theme to the show, it might be the curse of hype, which by definition can only result in disappointment. But the crowd noisily savours his mad musings of Einstein dating Marie Curie and her twin sister, or elaborate pranks involving dog biscuits in condoms and the badger's secret life as the ultimate gangsta of the animal kingdom.
TOM WRIGGLESWORTH - I'm struggling to see how that's helping, Pleasance
Star rating **
"I know, I know," says the improbably tall Yorkshireman, "The face of Postman Pat on the body of Peter Crouch." It's a wonderful opening gambit never quite rivalled by what follows.
Wrigglesworth certainly has a keen eye for everyday absurdities but never quite engages with the audience. Time stands still during the tale of the fake clock at St Pancras station's florist shop.
"I can't be any more funny," he protests during another lull, but with a bit more cohesion and ruthlessness with the material, Wrigglesworth certainly can.
With the imagination to have us believe his technophobe father could accidentally download the entire internet, and a personality so warm and inclusive, he will have better nights than this.
TOM ALLEN - A voyage round my mother, Gilded Balloon
Star rating ***
With his exemplary received pronunciation and beautifully manicured camp demeanour, 24-year-old Allen's performance is as polished as his prematurely balding head.
He effortlessly glides round topical contemporary references such as Facebook, the Jeremy Kyle Show, and the BBC series Who do You Think You Are? The latter sets up researching his own family tree in Ireland as a bonding exercise with his parents, but while witty enough waffle, the tale gets rather bogged down in the detail.
Remarkably accomplished for a comparative newcomer, Allen clearly has a big future but it's probably in television-presenting rather than stand up.
As slick and smooth as this hour was, ultimately it lacked true comedy soul.
