Review: The Man Presents: More Women
“Each sketch was different in comedic style, and performed with near perfect comic timing” writes Anna Smith
After the sell-out run of The Man Presents: Women at the Corpus Playroom earlier this year, these wonderful female and non-binary comedians return in a showcase of hilarious personas, along with a couple of equally brilliant new faces to Cambridge comedy.
Eight talented comedians took to the stage with their various personas: Jane Austen, with her new novel full of double entendres; Tabby T, the gangster street kid from upper-middle-class Kensington; Maudery, a scatty school run mum with an even crazier son; Aphrodite, a magazine columnist with questionable bedroom advice; Corrine, a comedian obsessed with Berocca; Mrs Guillotine, a seemingly strict old-school teacher giving a sex-ed lesson; Tarquin’s girl, who is devoted to her less than appreciative boyfriend; and a Scouse actress playing the next James Bond.
“A showcase of hilarious personas”
Each sketch was different in comedic style, and performed with near-perfect comic timing. Often, the reason for the jokes being funny was not so much the gags themselves, but the way they were executed. The themes for most of the sketches were along the lines of womanhood, though some strayed from this, which provided some nice variation. Each character was well costumed to complement their persona.
The compere, a self-proclaimed male feminist, was also very funny, though as the evening progressed, his jokes became progressively more forced and (I believe intentionally) had the audience groaning rather than laughing at his jokes at points towards the end. Altogether, The Man did his job well, not distracting attention from the sketches, but still gave a commendable performance.
“A thoroughly enjoyable and hilarious sketch show”
In a classic lateshow style, the set was simple but effective, with shiny pink streamers and a Las Vegas style sign as backdrop, and a chaise longue as the only set piece. Entrances were used effectively with some characters arriving through the auditorium for added comedic effect. Occasionally sound effects would be used as part of the sketches, which were effective and not overused. The lighting, which was for the most part necessarily simplistic, did get its own laugh at one point for intentionally missing the spotlight on a character.
Overall, The Man Presents: More Women is a thoroughly enjoyable and hilarious sketch show which succeeds in showcasing some excellent female and non-binary comedians. It is on at 11pm until Saturday 28th October and has an alternating cast, with eight comedians performing on Wednesday and Friday, and the other eight on Thursday and Saturday
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