Student comedy awards 2005

London Central heat

Nathan Caton, a second-year architecture student from Anglia Polytechnic University, has become the fourth finalist in the Chortle Student Comedy Award.

He has been performing comedy for only a few months, and says he is influenced by the likes of Eddie Murphy, Chris Tucker and Richard Pryor.

Caton took to the stage first in last night’s heat in central London, disproving the common perception among comedy competitors that it’s a cursed slot.

The full line-up at what proved to be one of the strongest heats yet was:

Nathan Caton: A slick performer with an unbeatable stage attitude and the confident air of someone much more experienced, he backed it up with entertaining tales of dating while broke and his strict West Indian upbringing.

Ian Hunter: A finalist in last year’s competition, Ulsterman Hunter had probably the single best joke of the night, about the Orange order calendar, which sits alongside a couple of nicely wry observational segments – even if his low-key delivery sometimes undersells them.

Dan Thomson: Looking for all the world like an Eighties alternative comedian, in punkish tie and pork-pie hat, Thomson was another strong performer, with a perfectly solid line in light surrealism – vegetarians out Quorn hunting, for example. Nothing magnificent, but nicely enjoyable, and with a nice bit of spontaneous banter with the audience.

Mike Belgrave: By far the most experienced competitor on the bill, with a few years on the open mic circuit under his belt, a gig like this is a breeze for the gregarious Belgrave… which is perhaps why he seemed to be coasting through his animated, conversational routine. It’s pleasant and inoffensive, with a couple of nice lines to lift it – but it’s testament, perhaps, to the greener contestants that he could quite stand out from the crowd.

Simon Brett: An obvious devotee of the Lee Evans school of delivery, Brett brought an infectious buzzy energy to his slightly unfocussed anecdote of a date from hell. When his material had a point to be made, about people (well, women), with ‘attitude’, it lifted noticeably. One practical thing he hasn’t learnt from his Kent University drama course: don’t wear a baseball hat that shades your face when your routine relies on the audience seeing the expressions your making.

Miranda Gretton: One of the few female entrants to this year’s competition, she brought a delightfully relaxed manner to her performance, chatting easily to the audience and appearing open and friendly. She started with material about her looks, but didn’t fixate on it, moving onto the pretentiousness of trendy nightclubs and of getting drunk at them. The material was quite superficial, but nicely delivered.

James McPhun: An 18-year-old making his stage debut sounds like a recipe for disaster, but you would never have guessed McPhun was so raw from his natural confidence, timing and rhythm. He might need to consider his subject matter – audiences are not going to naturally think someone so young has much to tell them about sex – but his material is decent enough, and his comic attitude much more developed than it has any right to be, especially when he plays up the ‘innocent offended’ stance he often affects. If he’s this good on his first ever gig, established comics might want to start worrying now…

James Watson: Another distinctive looker, in his red leather jacket, cravatand canary-yellow shirt, it’s not surprise to hear that Watson’s patter is screaming camp. With homespun tales from Brighton’s artistic enclave, his is a outré combination of Larry Grayson and Kenneth Williams. It’s an act we’ve all seen before, but he’s good at it.

Steve Bennett
February 24, 2005