The King’s Jest

Keynes Hall, King’s College, Saturday 12th February, 9pm, £2

[Rating: 4/5]

For those of you seeking a good laugh and some unpretentious fun, the King’s Jest is just the ticket, but don’t bring anyone who gets offended easily. The night got off to an interesting start with an OCD critique of porn by Phil Wang (they never actually fix the plumbing though, do they?), a set which was consistently irreverent, disgusting, and a damn good laugh. Whilst you shouldn’t hold out for high-brow humour, the one attempt at political satire quickly degenerated  into jokes about parliamentary buggery of students, the crowd lapped it up.

Some of the acts felt a little stilted, but even the newest performers managed to keep the show going. One of the highlights was a truly stunning musical performance by Emerald Paston, who stole the show with a rap about the hardships of being a Rah. Dannish Babar also remained at the top of the leader board, managing to keep the crowd giggling  for ten minutes just by fooling around with the microphone stand. Jenna Corderoy’s surreal set on the joys of brutally murdering Tom Cruise seemed to rather perplex the audience. Similarly, Jonny Lennard’s bizarre children’s story about the glories of Topshop and child labour added a healthy dollop of guilt to the raucous laughter.

All in all this was an intimate gig with some genuinely funny people doing unpretentious stand-up. Perhaps some of the acts were not as polished as they could have been, but for two-pounds a ticket you can hardly complain- this was good value fun. Go, check your brain at the door, and laugh at the funny people. You’ll feel better for it.