Sam Sword’s had a long, hard summer, or at least he has if you can describe touring round the country and spending over a month at the Fringe Festival as hard work. The Cambridge Footlights tour show Wham Bam has been performing in all sorts of venues across the UK from pubs, schools and even the Royal Naval College. When I asked him about how he and his fellow cast members had been received in different locations, Sam replied, “It depended very much on expectations: at Edinburgh people came to shows expecting to see Stephen Fry look-alikes and got us, whilst in smaller venues audiences tended to be very much more open-minded and as a result liked what they saw a lot more.”

On a critical level, the show and cast have certainly been a hit. The Edinburgh Festival magazine this year described Wham Bam as “by far the best Footlights show in years.” Quite a compliment given the pedigree of past Footlights talent.

I asked him what it’s like trying to fill the shoes of past presidents such as John Cleese, Hugh Laurie and David Mitchel. He admitted, “It was pretty scary at first, but I console myself with the knowledge that they must have all been like me and only really got big after leaving university. After all, the Footlights are all about experimentation.”

Hearing this frustratingly modest response I tried to goad him into some display of his spontaneous wit that has made him a success. “So, if you’re the President of the Footlights does this make you the funniest man in Cambridge? Go on, make me laugh.” He rolls his eyes, having obviously heard this too many times before and quickly retorts “F**k off, I’m not your monkey.” I feel shamed but that’s one of things that make Sam Sword so genuinely funny.

Sam only started in the Footlights last year when like most aspiring comics, he gave it a go. “It’s really worth trying out, Footlights is based on people who have the guts to give it a shot. I encourage anyone to audition for the Virgin Smoker later on this term.”

As Sam saunters off, every inch the image of the average gap student, I wonder if this is the future of British comedy. Time can only tell, but I don’t see why not. Most of the big names who came to Cambridge were involved somewhere along the line in the Footlights, and I’m sure even Stephen Fry took a Gap year.

Simon Allen