Review: Adam Ethan Crowe, Sean Turner, George Zach, Kai Humphries & Dan Willis – North Shore, Sunderland

Adam Ethan Crow

The Grinning Idiot Comedy Club regularly provides North East comedy goers with quality entertainment across their many venues in the region, and their newest night, at Sunderland University’s North Shore bar, showcased a variety of comedic talents.

Kicking off the night at the newly named Sunderland’s Student Union was regular MC Dan Willis. Whilst amiably warming up an audience which consisted of only students, the night’s compere reminded everyone it was only “£1 a pint” and that they should take advantage of this while it lasts, as it won’t be like this is the ‘real world’. Willis also chatted to a familiar face in the audience, Tony, throughout the show, asking him if he was yet to lose his virginity. It could have been an awkward moment as Willis pried into his personal life but Tony didn’t appear to mind and the situation went down well with the crowd, showcasing the compere’s impressive ad libbing abilities.

First up on the bill was rising star Kai Humphries. Humphries tackled topics of a childish nature, from putting five pences up his nose to his top embarrassing erection story and again went down well with the audience.  Finishing off his set with stories about living with his girlfriend and the urgency of having a lock on the toilet door, Humphries jumped into toilet humour which got a laugh due to the audience’s age but may not go down as well with older audiences.

Like a lot of Grinning Idiot nights, they showcased new talent in the middle section of the show and Sean Turner and George Zach both impressed. Zach’s accent may have been a bit thick in places, but this didn’t stop him getting laughs as he told of life with his flatmates and how he pranked his female housemate – I wouldn’t be surprised if a few audience members took note to solve future flatmate feuds.

Sean, on the other hand, had a very different approach, and was certainly less accessible in places. Starting his set by pretending to be a dragon was an odd yet unique and entertaining experience, but he got even more bizarre as the set went on, using facial impressions and props to good effect.

Closing the night at North Shore was Adam Ethan Crow. Dealing with topics such as paedophile priests, domestic violence and alcoholism some may find him offensive in parts, but not in this room. His dead pan delivery of such topics helped ease the tension and proved a big hit on the night – the audience connected with his honesty on such matters and warmed to him as his set developed. And even when showcasing some new material it was clear this man was a professional –  it wasn’t obvious what was new as his set flowed along merrily until it was time to leave.

All in all the night was quite a success with a host of different acts that suited everyone’s taste – and with pints at only £1 hopefully The Grinning Idiot will be making another appearance at North Shore.

More information on The Grinning Idiot Comedy Club can be found here.