Hungerford Comedy Club does it again!

There’s always something for everyone at Hungerford Comedy Club, and the show at the fully booked Croft Hall on Jan 30 was no exception. Four very different comedians took to the stage, and jointly produced a night of great laughter and joy on a night when the weather outside was decidedly miserable.

First on was Harriet Dyer, with a set of stream-of-consciousness oddity that was both bizarre and brilliant. Carefully constructed gags lie in wait to trip you up in the long grass of what seem like disconnected ramblings. Harriet’s recently been on a nationwide tour and seen on several TV shows and her slightly erratic delivery belies confident assurance of an act that has done this many times already, and she knows her craft. She’s a star on the rise for sure.

In stark contrast, Tim Sque delivers his one-liner material with the stillness and calm of a man in meditation but the pay-off was fabulous. The audience loved his gags, which were both clever and silly in equal measure, and worthy of groans or guffaws. But it wouldn’t have mattered either way. The atmosphere in the room is always generous and it was all great fun, unless, perhaps, you’d been dressed as a Mexican (you had to be there!). Newer act, Daniel Tizon brought a harder edge to the night, and his reflections on London-life might have played better to a younger urban audience. Still, there were some good gags in there and he held the audience all the way.

Rounding off the night was Michael Shafar, an Ozzie comedian who took the stage with the absolute confidence of a great act, who knows he’s got what it takes. He had the audience in stitches throughout. With a strong stage presence and killer gags – even on the topic of his own cancer –  Michael was one of the acts who performed at last year’s West Berks Comedy Festival (which will run again this year www.wbcf.uk), and produced a brilliant end to what was already a great night of laughter.

All was held together by MC Graeme Coulam, who also runs a regular comedy night in Thatcham. Details of both at ww.hungerfordcomedyclub.org.uk and www.thatchamcomedyclub.uk.