My expectations of Sketchpad by Comedy Soc were by far surpassed, but considering the content of the sketch named ‘The Edge Review’ how could I resist giving it the rating of four stars? For those who weren’t able to attend, Sketchpad was Comedy Society’s sketch and improv night, and it was a very enjoyable mix of the two types of comedy.
Sketches like ‘Nursery Rhyme #1: Rock-A-Bye-Baby’ showed how effective simple humour could be – Jed Marshall’s facial expressions sold the sketch completely as he acted as the central tree in Rock-A-Bye-Baby which had the audience in stitches. ‘Music #1: Grenade’ was also an absolute hit – completely unexpected, the third sketch of the evening got the whole crowd into the laughing mood, and set the tone for the rest of the evening. The sketches hit on topical points, like the X Factor sketch ‘Blurred Lines’, and ‘Great British Bake Off’. Some of the shorter sketches, such as the three ‘Rule of Three’ again proved how simple humour can bring the biggest laughs.
The improv interludes also provided some of the biggest laughs of the night. Using some of the most successful games from shows like Who’s Line is it Anyway?, the comedy talent of the improv comedians showing through. The ‘Party Quirks’ game was particularly entertaining, because of the interesting audience suggestions and the talents of the comedians – ‘the embodiment of the seven deadly sins’, ‘homosexual Optimus Prime’ and ‘drunk David Attenborough’ were brilliantly funny.
There were a few sketches which fell a little flat for me at times, where the comedy went beyond what I am comfortable with as a listener – I don’t particularly enjoy terrorist jokes, for example. However, these were few and far between, and the majority of the time I found the comedy to hit the mark perfectly.
Certain sketches were stand alone, while others featured recurring characters, such as the tiger high on drugs, and the Greek heroes attempting to escape from death and destruction. ‘Projector’ played on all of the things you’ve come to expect from lecturers at university, while ‘Superhero’ referenced classic comedy, in a subtle yet very effective way. Other standout sketches included ‘Silent Movie’ and ‘Forth Wall’ – which did have myself and my companion worried for a short time about whether we would be picked on and forced on stage.
Sketchpad was one of the funniest comedy productions that I’ve seen in a long time, student and professional, and well surpassed my expectations. I’m definitely looking forward to the next thing that Comedy Soc do.
