The latest Charity Chuckle, in aid of children’s charity Whoopsadaisy, gave a generous helping of comedians with eight on the bill.
The highlight of the first half was the delightfully carefree Jo Neary with her spot-on caricature of a Lewes culture snob and graphic dance interpretation of Harry Nilsson’s Without You.
A tough act for jilted geek Alex Kealy and his first kiss memories to follow while the larger-than-life strangeness of Darren Maskell and his favourite coat hangers left as many audience members bemused as amused.
In the second half, Julie Jepson’s Northern brusque involved, fittingly for the night, a little guide to localised Makaton symbols. Lawry Tilbury’s dead pan didn’t quite hit it off but Rich Perry had some sharp lines on bad mums, audio books and an alternative Calendar Girls.
Self-deprecating and sweaty compere Suzy Bennett held the night together in just the right spirit throughout with her matey oversharing.
Headliner Robin Ince, performing his first gig in Brighton since announcing his stand-up sabbatical, has too much angst, intelligence and anecdote to cram into a 20-minute set but gives it a good go – able to raise a hearty laugh with just the tug of his cardigan and the word hoo-ha.
Here’s hoping for many more sabbatical gigs from this most cerebral of comics.
Three stars
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