As is often the case with Cambridge comedy, Footlight Smokers was a strange assortment of the funny and the not-so-funny. This time it was the smiling-politely-at-that-mildly-amusing-line kind of funny, rather than the belly-laugh kind.  

Most of the comedy came from the acting rather than the writing, which varied vastly in quality. Some actors charmed the audience with their awkwardness, others with their cuteness; as was the case for Herman (not hermit) the crab, and his distaste for lobsters as members of the crustacean social circle.

On the technical side of things, transitions between acts were not as snappy as they could have been, particularly near the end, which stilted the flow and made it harder to maintain the comic atmosphere. Perhaps it also wasn’t a great sign that I found myself checking the time during these transitions to see if there was a likelihood that the acts would pick up near the end. As it was, the Smoker did round off with some of the best performances, including an existentialist scarecrow sketch with the sharp one-liner: “You really are outstanding in your field,” and the acknowledgement that being a scarecrow has its perks: “I scared a heron once. It shat itself.”

There were, however, parts where the comedy fell flat. A sketch of ‘cannibal masterchef’, which presented one of the contestants cooking his mother (“a family recipe”), seemed to simply be going for shocks without the wit to justify its shock-humour. A last-minute spattering of topical references also meant plenty of forced pope jokes.

On the whole, this Smoker didn’t shine with the wit and innovation which some Footlights shows display, but inclined instead to a ‘safer’, less uproariously funny kind of comedy. Still, the performances were varied, the actors charismatic, and the show definitely entertaining.