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Monday week 5 saw the welcome return of the Wentworth Comedy Night. Turnout was the best I’d seen for a Wentworth gig, no doubt owing to RAG’s heavy involvement and advertising. The night heralded three comedians, each entertaining with a very different style of humour.
This was the second night compèred by Dan Nightingale that I have seen and he definitely seemed more settled in his role this time around. He now comfortably fills the rather hairy void left by his much-admired predecessor, Dan Atkinson (who still appeared on the poster for some reason).
Dan Nightingale’s playful teasing of certain members of the alcohol-fuelled audience, combined with a witty look at some York University current affairs served as the perfect warm up for an enjoyable evening of chortles and guffaws.
The unmistakably Geordie Barry Dodds was the first on. His endlessly flowing cache of sardonic observational jokes (many of them geographical) went down well with the multi-regional audience. I think his humour is best summed up in his description of Barnsley as a “cultural metropolis”.
The headliner, Duncan Oakley, delivered a fast paced and in many places, a pretty rude act. I’m no psychologist, but the laughter he received seemed terribly awkward at times, and a quick glance around me in between jokes showed many people covering their faces with their hands, undoubtedly thinking “Oh, he didn’t just say that did he?” While he had no shortage of confidence, and proved himself a dab hand on the guitar, I got the impression that his jokes were a little out of joint with the humour the audience was expecting. He nevertheless went off to an enthusiastic and appreciative round of applause.
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