Once again AltLinc ventured to the Zing comedy night, as they so frequently do on Mondays.

 

 

 

 

 

Half past eight came and went and no comedy ensued. In fact half an hour after the supposed start time there were still no comedians to be seen. Anyone might think this is justifiable grounds for a negative review but I can’t really blame them for postponing the start of the night, you see, there were only six people in the audience!

Of the two tables occupied, one of them had their own personal comedian, who kept returning for a chat whenever the mood struck him. You can’t ask for better than that at a free comedy gig.

The music was playing, the drinks were flowing, and the atmosphere was relaxed as Bobby Freeman the MC finally took to the stage at 10 past nine – better late than never!

Bobby proclaimed: “This is going to be a fun night, no picking on the audience and no heckling, who’s up for a laugh?” and as the audience, now about 20 strong, agreed with a resounding YEAH! I settled back in my seat and let the evening commence.Bobby kicked of his comedy with a reference to the Echo as he let us all know they’d once described him as a cross between Boris Johnson and Tin Tin, to be honest, I could see where they were coming from!He chatted with the audience and came across as a friendly and professional MC.
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The first act, Nick Dent, was introduced and onto the stage came a timid looking man which wasn’t a promising start. He introduced himself as “not a proper man” with a boarding school background and we were away. He discussed women’s rights and his set was encouraged from constant titters of laughter from the crowd.

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Next was Jennifer Blander; a middle aged woman who played on her American accent and the American way of life, as so many of their comedians do. She was loud and overbearing. Her personality was big, which is great for a comedian, but hers was out of control. Towards the end of the set she lost the audience’s attention and the laughter faded away.

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The last comedian to take to the stage before the break was Sam Blake. A tall man who used a lot of the stage in his performance, from right to left, left to right he walked back and forth. He was restless and this really distracted from his performance which was great. He used quick one liners, interacted well with the crowd and kept their attention right to the end. Sadly his jitteriness made for painful watching but if I’d have looked away, I’d have loved it.

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After a short break in which the crowd refuelled Bobby had an idea for a competition which painfully involved me and a companion of mine.

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Andy came on to the stage after the competition, and his performance seemed just as painful as my time on stage. He started his set with some miming, praying and acting. Throughout he ‘pretended’ to be nervous, the reason for this escapes me. He was childish in his jokes and quit blunt. His interaction with the audience was lacking. He told a joke involving a cork and diarrhoea which can’t have take more than a seconds though to come up with.

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The headliner, Debra-Jane Appleby was left to rescue the night. She came on as though she knew her task: bold, loud and determined. She captivated the audience from the off, her northern background allowed her to banter with the audience and gave her a wealth of material to play with.

She began by talking about weight and E4 fat documentaries, she then moved on to talk about her grandchildren and the possible daemons within which was a topic greatly received by the crowd.

After she moved on to talking about her own look, of which she focused on her mullet. Not an intentional hair cut but the look you end up with when you pay half price for a hair cut at a newly opened salon.

Having moved to Surrey from the North she exclaimed, you can take the girl out of the North, but you can’t take the North out of the girl.

A very intelligentwoman at times discussing history and politics her set didn’t lose the audience as she threw the odd expletive in to keep everyone happy. Definitely would see again.

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Overall a great night, and ignoring Bobby’s involvement in my pain on stage the MC made the night.

Thanks guys, can’t wait to go back next week!

Do you agree with our ratings? Let us know in the comments or Tweet us @alternativelincoln with #lincolncomedy