The final act of the first half could not have been more different to the previous finalists. Danny Garnell came on in a black tracksuit sounding like a million cockney cabbies I've had over the years and I briefly wondered if this was a Pub Landlord-style character act as he explained that this is what a midlife crisis looks like. Garnell was relaxed and at ease onstage as he launched into a tale of getting into a kerfuffle at "Disneyland...Paris" (the French location, presumably cheaper than Florida, mentioned after a neatly timed pause). It was a stand-out set-piece anecdote, with some beautifully observed details and asides, including an obligatory mention of Micky Mouse. It landed him the winning spot.
While the first half finished strongly the second half was even stronger. Frighteningly young first act Liam Farrelly is going to have to get used to the Kevin Bridges comparisons or have elocution lessons. Like Bridges he comes from Glasgow and his accent was so pronounced it took a while for these English ears to tune in. But when they did it was apparent that this was a young man with natural storytelling talent as he chatted about his mother's MS and their testy relationship. He recalled that she had once angrily thrown a crutch at him in public and the most embarassing thing was that he had to return it to her like a dog returning a bone. Impressive stuff that earned Farrelly the runner-up spot.
Chelsea Birkby started nervously and it can't be easy building up momentum when your opening gag has failed to get a laugh. She ploughed on gamely though, explaining that she was bipolar and how this affected her life. If she had had more time to expand on the theme dealing with such a heavy subject might have worked better, but there were not enough laughs to make an impact in this short set.
Patrick Healy was another young comedian and another comedian from Australia. Though he spoke so quietly at first I thought he had said he was from "Stroud" and just had a strange accent. His jokes, taking in his Maltese gran, fridges and the sporting prowess in his family, had a dark pessismistic streak. It was an oddly bleak style for someone in the prime of life but it seemed to come naturally to him. Hopefully he is more cheerful offstage.
Final spot was Joe Hobbs, who has already had a good Edinburgh, picking up an Amused Moose prize. At 6 foot 9 inches he ended the show on a high in more ways than one with his story about having the last word when a Korean man mocked his height on a tube train and had a pleasing routine about turning the tables on an online reviewer who had written about him on a website. He can now add a his join second runner-up prize here to his trophy cabinet.
Read more Edinburgh Fringe reviews here.
Picture of Danny Garnell with judge Rhod Gilbert: Steve Ullathorne.
