You know that it’s going to be a good evening of Cambridge comedy when the playroom is hot, packed, and turning ever more people away..

The audience last night at the Corpus Playroom was treated to stand up, music, a sketch and even a vagina monologue, all hosted in aid of the Parkinsons Society by compere Ben Pope, president of the Footlights. 

The evening provided comedy snapshots of the work of seven Fletcher Players, and gave a taste of other shows to come this term.  Seasoned comedians Jamie Fraser and Ken Cheng respectively opened and closed the night. Fraser provided some current affairs related humour by dissecting the recent Jeremy Clarkson scandal.  Moving onto personal material, he displayed considerable self-awareness when discussing social interactions and relationships, with strikingly natural and spontaneous reactions to the audience and even to his own jokes . Cheng covered diverse topics but maintained his transitions smooth - and despite the seemingly disparate final point, he wrapped up his mini-set by referring back to an opening witty analysis, creating an overall theme and leaving the audience with the feeling of a satisfyingly unified set. 

Stand-up newbies Ellen Robertson and Tom Fraser were no less professional during their sets.  Robertson interacted naturally with the audience, moved fluidly through her set and showed good comic timing with dry quips.  Her material was bold and honest, ranging from masturbation to the stereotypes surrounding female comedians.  Her vagina monologue was hilariously personal and self-aware, particularly when responding to the original monologue.  Tom Fraser’s work was equally very personal, providing the audience with a series of possible reactions when interrupted whilst on the toilet. His re-enactments used an audience member to hilarious effect. His subsequent topic of iPhones and apps was not as obviously funny as the first part, being more off the wall; however it bore testament to his highly particular mannerisms and eccentric presence on stage. 

Adrian Gray had an equally entertaining presence on stage. He came on furtively, sat down and performed a hilariously serious sketch involving pithy analysis of current affairs, colourful swearing and delightfully weird images. Archie Henderson performed two sketch-like musical numbers in a similar manner, inhabiting his characters with deadpan aplomb. Both sketches were equally eccentric but the first one particularly so, combining the breathy, if creepy, Felicity Bywater with surprisingly impressive birdcalls. Alex MacKeith provided the second musical number, interspersing music with comic musings on the hidden meanings in Paul Simon’s music and Justin Timberlake’s inspirational nature. But it was Alex’s hilarious analysis of Coldplay which really made his set.  While Coldplay-bashing may seem typical, MacKeith’s take was side-splittingly original.

Transitions between the comedians were equally hilarious, courtesy of Ben Pope who amused the audience with quips and comic analysis; his discussion of ‘the birds and the bees’ was particularly sharp and entertaining. All in all, the diversity of comic talent made for a fresh and lively evening.