The annual Live at Brighton Festival comedy gig at the Dome, happens in the final week of the festival and, in my view, is a great way to end the festival.
With three or four comedians and a compere, the event is a chance to see different types of comedy and work out what you like.
Headlined by Joel Dommett, the event brings together some of Britain’s top comedians who each perform a 20 to 30 minute set.
These bite-sized performances make for easy, enjoyable watching. If you don’t love a particular act’s style – don’t worry, they won’t be on for long.
And if you do, it gives you time to calm down and take a breather after crying with laughter.
There were two stars in this show – Jen Brister and Spencer Jones.
She was a perfect compere and eased us into the evening with her quick witted, but never too harsh, jabs at audience members who were brave enough to contribute.
She had the crowds howling when she revealed the “horror” of discovering she had bingo wings when she reached over her child’s birthday cake and the “wind” they created extinguished the candles.
Jen, who has been living in Brighton for ten years, parodies the city’s middle-class over positive types with painful accuracy.
The audience cackled when she explained how they kept up their lockdown hobby of making their own sourdough.
“Sometimes you just want plain white bread!” she yelled.
Desiree Burch had the first set and while she had a few people howling, it felt as though her comedy wasn’t quite for the Thursday-night-at-the-Dome audience.
Desiree Burch at Live at Brighton Festival (Image: The Argus)
I’m all for a rude joke and a bit of toilet humour, but her jokes were at times a little too crass.
Up next was Spencer Jones, who I had heard of but had never seen. The photo of him with a hat made of tennis balls intrigued me.
His set was aided with a number of props, including feet which had teeth in, so you can smile at the postman when he takes a proof of delivery picture.
It was utterly ridiculous and completely hilarious.
Before singing a song with a parrot mask on, he said “bear in mind, I can vote” and had the audience in stitches.
He embraces tomfoolery – I cried with laughter for the first time in ages.
After an interval, it was time for the headline act.
Everyone knows Joel Dommett – by his own admission, people often don’t know he does standup.
The Masked Singer host mocked fans of the show – “does anyone watch it?” he asked.
A few reluctant whoops from the crowd. “Good to hear we have some three-year-olds in,” he said.
He told of a recent “awful” show after which he had a quick nap in the car before driving home.
Joel Dommett headlined (Image: The Argus)
An audience member rapped on the window and, when he replied said: “Thank God you’re alive, I thought you’d killed yourself because the gig was so bad.”
His self-deprecating jokes were great fun and the recording of his attempt at rapping was cleverly timed.
The variety of the four comics exemplified the variety of the festival in a neatly packaged two hours of Thursday night fun.
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