Review: Bramall Comedy Night, Suzi Ruffell, Caimh McDonnell & Paul Sinha
This Thursday saw the second instalment of the University of Birmingham’s brand new monthly comedy night, with three new fantastic comedians on the bill.
Compèred by the impressively quick-witted Suzi Ruffell, this small audience felt at ease within minutes and the atmosphere was comfortable: ready for some sophisticated Thursday night comedy. Ruffell showed great skill while compèring; she was friendly and enthusiastic but her role definitely felt more like any other act on the bill, which I definitely prefer as often compères can border on annoying, in my opinion.
Suzi’s material was charmingly open, with topics ranging from adolescence to drunken shopping, and her delivery was self-assured yet the emotional nature of her material meant that she allowed herself to be vulnerable whilst on stage, which made for an interesting combination.
Suzi Ruffell © Andy Hollingworth Archive
Next, Irish comic Caimh McDonnell was welcomed to the stage, bringing his brilliant energy with him. With personal anecdotes about his wife and time living in both London and Manchester, McDonnell was able to establish a connection with his audience effortlessly, making us feel as though we all want him to be our friend, or that he already was so. I really enjoyed Caimh’s set, particularly the fact he brought a large wall clock on stage with him as he didn’t have a watch. I’ll definitely be on the look out for more of his stuff in the future, as I’d never heard of him previously but thought he was hilarious.
Paul Sinha brought an air of calm with him into the room with his steady-paced, straight-faced delivery of incredibly sarcastic lines. I have been a fan of Sinha since seeing him on series one of Stewart Lee’s brilliant show: The Alternative Comedy Experience, and he certainly didn’t disappoint. His set was endearingly honest, with frequent reference to the fact he is gay, and the implications this has had with various aspects of his life, such as his father’s amusing response when he found out. Whilst on stage, this comedian is very in control. He is steady and stable but not afraid to be silly or self-depreciating. On top of all of this, he is absolutely excellent.
This small-scale monthly comedy night in Birmingham is a wonderful (and cheap) event that allows us to see comics we might not necessarily have heard of before, or that aren’t currently touring the country with their shows. If you live nearby, I urge you to take a look.