STAND-UP: Paul Tonkinson, Caroline Mabey, Alun Cochrane + more - XS Malarkey @ The Queen of Hearts (Manchester), 15/03/11

This being my first foray into ‘underground’ comedy, I was quite excited to see a fairly big name (i.e. someone I’ve seen on the telly), in a small venue. I first saw Paul Tonkinson on Comedy Central a number of years ago, and again more recently on Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow – and I was intrigued to see whether his odd/cartoony traits would come out in front of a small crowd.

To Fern Brady first though. Her material focused on the Daily Mail’s hatred of foxes and duplicate-your-own-vaginas; so liberal comedy in both senses. It was pretty funny stuff aimed at students, but as that’s what made up most of the crowd it worked.

A quick note about the MC Toby Hadoke – he did a good job at warming up the crowd and keeping them entertained during breaks. So much so that he could easily have done two sets worth of material as an actual act. With a nervous/posh kind of edge, he did trail off a few times but certainly kept everyone’s attention.

Carl Hutchinson was next. He was a self-proclaimed stoner, although he seemed more high on caffeine than anything else. He took a while to get going, but once he found his stride, it was a very funny set.

It was then ‘special guest’ time, with Alun Cochrane being added to the bill last minute as a surprise act, so he could try out some new material. It’s so obvious when people have been doing it for years, as he seemed very at home even with fresh jokes, and they certainly weren’t bad either. Relaxed and confident, Cochrane’s set was a great watch.

Caroline Mabey was unfortunately the low point of the night. I checked her out online beforehand and she was pretty straight, although still nothing to write home about. Tonight she was all over the place – schizophrenic, horny and pretty hard to watch. There were glimmers of hope, but overall a confusing set.

It was a shame the crowd wasn’t bigger for Paul Tonkinson, but that didn’t stop him getting involved and making the most of the audience. He toned down the ‘weird’ a little, but was still able to bounce off the crowd and create a great atmosphere. Talking about his days at university in Manchester, he went down brilliantly. You definitely see a different side of comedians in a smaller venue, and it’s one that Paul Tonkinson works really well.