Stand-Up Literature, Fri 18th October 2019

Jericho Comedy’s stand up offerings usually deliver a great mix of laughing and learning, but you can’t win ‘em all, and tonight’s show fell a little short of the usual high standards.

The format is a winner, and one that I’ve seen them pull off many times before: a bunch of funny people saying funny things, loosely based on an academic topic like science, philosophy or history. Sometimes they even include the occasional academic talk to give the full Oxford experience. Tonight’s offering was based out of the (perhaps slightly too well lit) Blackwells bookstore in the Westgate, and themed loosely around literature.

Our stalwart host Alex Farrow was his usual charming self. Funny, easygoing and comfortable in his own skin, Farrow effortlessly engaged the crowd with banter, in between well-rehearsed set pieces. I had heard some of the material before, but it’s solid stuff which got me and the rest of the crowd in the mood for some highbrow ha-has.

First up was Micky Overman, who by her own admission was trying out some new material. Overman delivered her material in a chatty style, and got some good laughs, though she did lose some momentum for having to refer to her notes a fair bit. I appreciated some of the brave material choices and, though not every one landed, it was nice to get some new themes.

Next up we had Patrick Spicer. Adopting a convincing posh banter style reminiscent of Alan Partridge, I felt like Spicer had much to offer. His act relied heavily on a slide deck, which I generally enjoy, but without a clicker and lacking some practice meant the timing wasn’t quite right. So things that should have been quite funny didn’t get what they deserved. With a bit more elbow grease and some quality assurance, it feels like there could be a really good set there.

After a break allowing the audience to browse books and buy beer, our host Farrow returned with a strong set blending together comedy, science, fun and facts. There’s no doubt that mirthful factoids make for strong and engaging material. Unfortunately our next act Cherly wasn’t quite comfortable enough on stage or with her material to keep up the good humour.

The evening finished with a decent set delivered by Chelsea Birkby. Firmly placing herself into the millennial category, she treated us to a well-thought-out set on the philosophy of Kim Kardashian. Confidently, if a little breathlessly, delivered, Birkby had some good material. Though it also could have done with a polish and a practice, I thought the concepts had the potential to be both funny and interesting, and could turn into a really cracking set.

Though it wasn’t my favourite Jericho Comedy night, it has been great before and the potential was clearly evident. I will be coming back in the future to try again.

Friday night brought together books, beers, bookworms, and bards (well, stand-up comedians). The second installment of Stand-Up Literature was kicked off by Conor McReynolds, an amusing host who warmed up the audience by interviewing us about what we were reading. He was quick to react: when he inquired about one lady’s favourite book she pondered and said, 'difficult decision' - he quipped, 'who is that by?' At times he was self-deprecating, telling us about finding one of his former co-worker's new books in Blackwell’s that evening, and recalling how they both used to commute; she ended up writing most of the book on hers, while he was far less productive, napping or eating on the Oxford Tube.

Chloe Jacobs’ set focused on fan fiction. She made fun of herself in a way that had a show-and-tell vibe: Jacobs announced she was sporting a cardigan with a hole in it, and revealed that she wrote Twilight erotic fan fiction as an eleven-year-old. We were treated to a recitation of this, from an account she cannot remember the password to, so she can never delete the evidence!

Dan Squire had an interactive set, where he straddled the line between comic and snarky game show host. In 'Do You Know Books?' we were given brief summaries of ‘famous’ romance novels before he revealed the title, such as the book where the protagonist inherits a necklace: Chain Heir. Squire also put together a BuzzFeed quiz, 'What Type of Book Are You?', and had several people play along, each getting further than the last. Duane 'Dog' Chapman’s autobiography featured in a meta-joke where Squire made fun of comedians who make fun of celebrity autobiographies.

After the intermission, McReynolds entertained us by delving into Irish history and religion. In a joke that could not have been planned, he asked the audience to name what in Ireland is called 'The Great Book': one girl queried 'Ulysses?', though he was actually referring to The Bible. Moving on to poetry, McReynolds explained to us why Seamus Heaney would have made a terrible potato farmer, and shared with us some 'hai-poos': haikus to read on the toilet.

Louise Bastock was effortlessly cool as she presented a humorous ‘TED talk,’ which included storytelling about her time in publishing, and amusing typos in Lonely Planet guides. She declared herself the female Shakespeare, as she has been coining words for the twenty-first century, and told us how she is 'legiterally' the definition of normal: “until her accident Louise had been a perfectly normal little girl” is the example sentence in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Alex Farrow rounded out the evening and was wonderful as always. He started off discussing language, and comparing American and British English - we expected the eggplant versus aubergine comparison but he deadpanned 'chicken' as the British equivalent. I was impressed with Farrow’s ability to connect his early joke about Welsh schoolboys playing a prank with sheep, to a later one about Aristotle’s missing book on comedy. Similar to the 'is this a dirty rap lyric or line by feminist poet Gertrude Stein?' game he made for Jericho Comedy two years ago, Farrow challenged two audience members to guess whether various sentences were from the Song of Solomon or just a romantic erotic line he wrote himself. Having seen Farrow host and perform multiple times, it is evident that he skillfully adapts his cerebral sense of humor for any subject and is at ease in front of the packed venue, flowing seamlessly from one topic to the next.

It was overall enjoyable to be surrounded by bookshelves and fellow readers, watching comedians poke fun at language, dialogue, novels, and authors in a way that made us laugh and also made us think. I hope to see a third volume of Stand-Up Literature in the coming months.