Comic Boom is quite the Brighton institution showcasing up and coming comedians along with an established headliner. This month Paul F Taylor delighted in the headliner slot with his quirky and experimental material. He clearly relishes in playing around with the stand-up genre jumping from jokes to stories to surrealism. He has a great on-stage presence and captivated the audience, carrying them cleverly through his erratic and seemingly chaotic set. Don’t be fooled though, this guy knows what he is doing. I guess I like that in the same way as I like Stewart Lee playing with the art of stand-up. I think Paul will be taking this further and will get even more interesting as time goes on. This guy will be around for the long term and good luck to him.
The absolute star of the show for me was the compère Maisie Adam. She sparkled and lit the room up with her joyful exuberance. She is razor sharp and fast and also completely charming. She did short stints throughout the evening in-between the acts. I would love to see her full show.
Also on the bill were Kate McGann, Riki Msindo, Rachel Quinn, Ashish Suni and Sam Williams. The stand out from these newcomers for me was Ashish which included a very funny joke about Screwfix not being a dating app! All the rest had some good material too and it is all credit to Jill Edwards who curates this monthly showcase that she keeps the quality really high and also gives new artists the chance to try out to a larger crowd. This is a good format and long may it continue. You get to see lots of comedians for your money and are also guaranteed a top-quality headliner and compère from the cream of the current comedy crop.
