The Leicester Square Theatre’s inaugural Old Comedian Of the Year is the latest example of niche comedy competitions. Though “Old” was not as niche as it first appeared. Despite compere Arthur Smith’s inevitable gag about the prize including a gold zimmer frame, comedians only had to be 35 years old and with five years performing experience to enter. The standard was understandably high then, though with some acts clearly better known than others. I’m just glad I wasn’t one of the judges who had to pick a winner. Arthur Smith suggested that Sepp Blatter was on the panel.
Matt Hollins had the tough job of kicking proceedings off and he seemed noticeably nervous. In fact quite a lot of the acts were nervous. His material did not seem that strong either as he chatted about working in a biscuit factory and briefly supporting Michael McIntyre back in the noughties. But gradually the workmanlike patter found more of a shape and structure, with some neat callbacks towards the end. Hollins was never going to win, but he did snatch a personal victory from the jaws of defeat.
Lynn Ruth Miller has already picked up awards and was probably one of the favourites here. She certainly got a big cheer when she went onstage and not just because she was such a nimble 81-year-old. I’ve seen Miller do longer, more narrative-based sets, but here she rattled through Borscht Belt-style, Jackie Mason-ish gags with a bit more smut. She made much out of being sexually active and surfed a wave of laughs that were not just from friends and supporters. I’d have happily put a bet on her, and yet she wasn’t even placed.
Tony Cowards has a good reputation online and on the circuit as a one-liner merchant and he stuck almost too rigidly to the formula here. If he had done an hour I’d happily quote a few of his gags, but as this may have been his best five minutes I won’t reveal them. Needless to say some were very good, but the quality was not quite consistent enough to get him into the top three. And maybe even in a set as short as this he needs to vary the pace a little more.
Jo Ogden came on to a cheer and then took her time before getting started. It was hard to tell whether this was nerves or an audacious style of performance. She had some decent gags about being 39 but, like Hollins, seemed too anxious to make the audience relax. When she embarked on a story with an elaborate set-up she said she had fluffed the gag. I wasn’t clear whether this was part of her self-deprecating routine or a genuine mistake. Either way she showed promise but did not really deliver.
Next was Linda Larkin, a gobby bird who sounded like she was auditioning for EastEnders. Larkin’s fast delivery made her seem nervous too, but here I think it was more a part of the act. In fact her gossipy style turned out to be fake - this was actually comedian Sam Savage doing a character, albeit one that was so utterly convincing it didn’t actually feel like character comedy. It was a lot cleverer than it seemed, and bagged Savage third place.
Review continues here
