Latitude: Our Top 10 Stand-Ups…

Latitude: Our Picks...

Watching comedy can sometimes feel a bit like Groundhog Day.

The compere arrives from behind the curtain and introduces himself. He pin points one punter in the front row to bounce off: “Who are you? What do you do?” Then, after about five minutes of asking a decorator what his favourite paint is, he demands you give the next act a voracious round of applause because they’re “fucking amazing – a good friend of mine.” The act in question comes out, cool, confident, bursting with excitement. He has one thing on his mind: get some telly.

Which is why, instead of giving you a complete review of every comedian at this year’s Latitude, we’ve just picked out our favourites: a selection of ten stand-ups who made an impression, possessed an original voice and brought the loyal Latitude comedy crowd to their knees in adulation. Here goes…

10) Carl Donnelly

Filling in on Thursday night, Carl Donnelly brought his laddish charm to the Literary Arena on Thursday night. Talking about getting wasted on drink and drugs isn’t exactly the bread and butter of the book-worm, but Donnelly pitches his lines with a clever irony and self-awareness: he knows he doesn’t quite fit in here at Latitude. But in truth, Donnelly can play to just about any crowd, from rowdy Jongleurs to this, a family-orientated audience of literary lovers. Well done, lad…

9) Jack Dee

Sunday’s headliner Jack Dee was here refining new material for his first tour in six years – and while not everything hit the sweet spot, there was more than enough to keep the casual fan happy. Routines about unhelpful supermarket workers and Jesus’ teenage years might feel a little familiar – and will probably be dropped before his tour begins in September – but when Dee allows himself to sink back into his trademark grumpy persona, he really comes into his own. A story about his daughter borrowing the family tent for a festival is pitched perfectly, and the stresses of raising children brings out the funny in comedy’s original Mr Grouch.

8) Rich Hall

“There’s nothing fucking subtle about America,” barks Rich Hall to a heaving comedy tent on Saturday afternoon. Surely, though, he is the exception rather than the rule…

Take Hall’s routine on a trampolinist who won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It begins as a slight observation on how lesser sports aren’t recognised at the games; who can remember the name of the trampolinist? No-one answers. But the routine grows, as he questions what you can do with a gold medal that no-one gives a shit about, and it concludes with a knock-out gag about trying to get into a nightclub…

Often Hall is so chatty that you forget these routines have been written and re-written dozens of times on stage, and that moment of relaxation allows him to slip in gags that really pack a punch.

7) Des Bishop

Sandwiched between Marcus Brigstocke and Jack Dee on Sunday afternoon, Des Bishop didn’t have the easiest of spots at Latitude, but the crowd loved him.

New Yorker Bishop is stand-up who really buys into the notion that “comedy is truth” – which is probably why he was so keen to tell us all about himself. How he used to be alcoholic…so he moved to Ireland; how he battled back from testicular cancer, though opted out of having a silicone replacement fitted; and, on a lighter note, how Bishop had always wanted to be a rapper but never got round to it. What a captivating bloke.

And even when the funny stuff wears thin – like his closing set piece, where he mixes Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’ – the audience are still with him, which is the ultimate testament to how powerful his confessional material is.

6) Cardinal Burns

Cardinal Burns kicked off our festival experience on Friday lunchtime, and as far as sketch comedy goes they set the bar pretty high. Combining old and new sketches with cut scenes from their telly show (did the Kellogg’s advert scare you to death too?) Seb Cardinal and Dustin Demri-Burns shone in the Cabaret Arena. Let’s just hope E4 want to bring them back for a second series…

5) Tony Law’s two toddlers…

Tony Law had a rough ride at Latitude this year. His attempts at ‘BANTER!’ didn’t quite hit the spot, presumably because he was satirising the very people he was playing to. But luckily, Law’s two cute children saved his set. Halfway through his set they wandering on to the stage unannounced, gripping him around the legs and, almost immediately, grabbing the attention of 2000 or so festival goers. Bravo.

A late addition to the Sunday line-up, Marcus Brigstocke was filling in for an absent Greg Davies – who, er, had the flu. This was more a greatest hits set than anything, as the crowd appeared unresponsive to his new Brig Society material. However routines on the Olympics, rail travel and one or two deft impressions kept the Comedy Arena bouncing, for what Brigstocke described as “the weirdest gig I’ve ever done.”

3) Tim Key

While somewhat more sedate, the poetry tent – usually the reclusive uncle of a festival’s main stages – offered equivalent verbal thrills throughout the weekend. On Friday afternoon Tim Key’s fantastically morose poet persona – “One review described me as deliberately bad poetry. They’re wrong… it’s not deliberate”- effortlessly fused stand-up and poetry, further cementing his status as one of the country’s finest talents.

(Words: Rachel Pronger)

2) Terry Alderton

Possibly the most memorable act of the weekend, Terry Alderton kept the Comedy Arena on its toes with a stunning schizophrenic monologue and a set piece involving his feet talking to each other. Seriously. There were a few hackneyed lines covered in an ‘ironic’ disguise, but there was still more than enough to keep the average onlooker happy. The perfect festival stand-up.

1) Nick Helm (and the Helmettes…)

Now here’s a comedian who handles repeat viewing. Last summer, Nick Helm’s 2011 show was nominated for the top gong at the Fringe. Since then, he’s moved up in the circuit ranks, rightly coveting headline status amongst his peers, and done bits and pieces of telly too. He’s even been on Celebrity Deal or No Deal, for God’s sake.

But all this attention is justified, because Helm has the talent to go straight to the top.

Backed by his Helmettes (a couple of guitarists and a drummer), this professional dick-kicker rose above the technical problems in the Comedy Arena to deliver a stunning, utterly frightening performance that showcased all of his, er, talents. Beginning with a half-baked Mexican wave, Helm piled through songs, poems, scripted material and more in what was undoubtedly my highlight of the weekend.

He’s always likely to split a room, of course, but if you don’t get on board with what Helm has to offer then you’re really missing out; a class act who I’d love to see again. And again. And again.

Read our review of Latitude 2012 here.