22 September
Pleasance Cabaret Bar

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With the comedic fires of the Edinburgh Fringe still smouldering at the Pleasance Courtyard, laughter returned to the University on Tuesday night, when a distinctly green crowd was presented with the vitriolic artistry of London’s Holly Walsh, and Canadian nominee for this year’s Edinburgh Comedy Best Newcomer Award Pete Johansson.

Fresher-heavy or otherwise, compére Scott Agnew demonstrated to the crowd from the outset that it is never too early in one’s university life to have one’s stereotypes destroyed, as Agnew powered through a crass and confrontational introduction to life as a self confessed ‘Glasgow poof’.

While Agnew’s observations on prejudice and urban life were spot on, by crossing his clean-cut audience’s boundaries, in an attempt to warm the room, he may have had an undesirable effect.

Providing a series of self-examining barbs on city life, Londoner Walsh appeared to settle into her act as the night progressed, producing strong material on the politics of bus-seating, and stories of supermarket work which would be close to the hearts of much of the student crowd. As Walsh left the stage to polite if not riotous applause, one feels that while her observations are undoubtedly funny, she would benefit greatly from moving a little closer to the edge.

Of headliner Pete Johansson the situation could not be more different.

Any disappointment at the absence of Patrick Monahan was quickly dispelled as one of the stars of this year’s Fringe delivered a treatise on age, which was lapped up by the crowd, despite the subject’s potential for tedium.  “Anyone in here over thirty?” the Canadian rhetorically asked at the outset, setting the tone for a laconic, deliberately low energy performance, punctuated beautifully with sparks of anger at all that Johansson sees as wrong with the world and what it has done to his body.

Although Johansson continually made reference to the crowd’s lack of enthusiasm, it is a successful comic indeed who can so easily entice an audience member to lick his hand to aid in a mid-show tequila shot.
Even though the crowd, which appeared largely new to the comedy club night, were at times less than generous, Johansson’s jokes continually hit home, as he deftly confirmed his status as a star of the circuit, and undoubtedly ensured that the crowds this year will be back for more.        

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