Led by the charismatic and engaging Northern Irish stand-up Martin Mor, this edition of the Stand’s Saturday Show presents four varied acts whilst also consistently keeping the audience entertained throughout.
The first performer, Irish stand-up Eleanor Tiernan, has a tentative, slightly nervous delivery. However, she works past it to deliver inspired punchlines on life as an economic migrant in post-Brexit Britain that keep the audience laughing. A joke comparing male and female genitalia in particular had the audience in hysterics. Despite her initial apparent nerves, Tiernan is a consistently funny performer who provides a fine opener for the rest of the evening’s entertainment.
Whilst Falkirk comic Bob Graham appears more confident in his delivery than Tiernan, his set falters after strong opening material focusing on self-deprecation about his appearance and the (non) wonders of growing up near Falkirk. Graham gradually loses the audience’s attention, with jokes about the absurdity of fox hunting and smoking weed receiving only muted responses. Graham’s act doesn’t so much finish as much as it slowly fizzles out – whilst he has a strong first act, his later jokes feel somewhat underdeveloped and insubstantial in comparison to those of the surrounding acts.
In contrast, Glaswegian Ray Bradshaw maintains a steady hold on the audience throughout his time onstage. Bradshaw uses a relaxed, fast-paced style delivery to his advantage, which enables him to go from subject to subject without missing a beat. As a result, no gag outstays its welcome, with the most memorable examples relating to Bradshaw’s family. All in all, Bradshaw is a welcome addition to the night’s line-up, with the audience being left on a high once his set has ended.
The headliner for the evening is Fringe veteran Andrew Stanley, who almost immediately launches into an almost-non-stop stream of audience participation which provoked the loudest responses of the night. Stanley leaves no stone unturned in his comic interrogation of the sex lives of two unlucky couples in the audience, even getting audience members in on the act by posing their own questions to one of the couples. Fearless in his comedic approach and willing to go the extra distance for laughs, Stanley is the highlight of the evening and more than earns his position as headliner for the night.