Review: Tom Allen, Graham Goring, Steffen Peddie & Danny Deegan – Sunderland Empire

Tom Allen

Sunderland Empire’s upstairs venue is of modest size, and provides a suitably intimate room for Laughter Live. The room is light and chic, and the atmosphere open & relaxed. As I take my seat, to the sound of gentle chatter, it quickly becomes apparent that I’ve managed to position myself in the middle of a large party. At its helm is one rather drunken man, who goes to great lengths to let everyone know it’s his birthday.

Although there’s a good crowd in, the majority seem reluctant to contribute to the show, and compere Danny Deegan clearly has his work cut out. Unfortunately (but not unexpectedly) it doesn’t take long for the birthday boy to attempt some hilarious unprovoked banter, with limited success. Mercifully, he is quickly dealt with, and Deegan is able to begin the night in earnest. Obviously not new to the situation, he manages to unwind the audience and introduce the first act to ample levels of applause.

As Steffen Peddie’s rather large form takes to the stage, I pray that he’ll avoid the Johnny Vegas tactic of comedic self-deprecation and just get on with his act. The opening gambit “For a fat bloke, it’s a long walk from the back of the room” does little to allay my prejudices. Peddie swiftly moves into a series of well-considered routines, delivered with an experienced confidence. However, the easy jokes about his weight are never far away. The observational style of his anecdotes, punctuated with the occasional quip to keep the laughter flowing, give the distinct impression that Peddie is more acclimatised to the role of compere – an impression confirmed by Google.

Unexpectedly, Peddie shifts gears mid-set to deliver a lengthy routine on the subject of his raging hatred of the Chav; an attitude that this room supports abundantly. His set is well-received and provides some genuine belly-laughs, but is blemished by the relentless fat jokes and jarring change of pace.

A lengthy break follows each act of the night, which has the unfortunate consequence of presenting a newly cold audience to Danny Deegan. He reworks the audience and skilfully deals with more heckles, before introducing middle act Graham Goring.

Goring takes to the stage armed with a geeky demeanour and a clipboard, used to check off his numbered jokes. The character is an obvious attempt to build something unique around the delivery of his one-liners, although it seems somewhat incomplete.

The jokes themselves vary in quality, and although there are some absolute gems in there, the hit rate sits at around 70%. There is such a range of both moral boundaries and references throughout the set that small pockets of laughter are produced as each joke finds its niche in the room. Goring has undeniable talent, but some of his lines would work much better written down, and others are needlessly clever rather than laugh-out-loud funny. I suspect that Goring is testing some new material here, and some tighter quality control would produce a more robust act.

During the next break, the birthday boy mercifully decides he’s too drunk and goes home. Danny Deegan takes the opportunity to stretch out with some lengthier material of his own, before handing the mic to the headline act.

While Peddie, Goring, and Deegan all have their charms – and I would describe all of them as accomplished circuit comedians – Tom Allen is in a different league altogether.

He takes to the stage with a confident stride, his smart & suited image, amiable manner, and personal flair all methodically considered. His delivery is effortlessly self-assured, and he immediately has the audience in the palm of his hand.

Allen is unashamedly camp, yet avoids playing on this for comedic effect until well into his set. The act takes us through his upper-middle-class upbringing, schooling, and early work life, focusing on his posh attitude to life. On more than one occasion I expect Allen to punctuate his point with bad language (a la Miles Jupp) but he refrains, generating maximum effect when he casually drops the C-word into a later routine.

Allen also explores his adult life, and in particular the relationships he now has with the characters we meet from his childhood. He also addresses the prejudice he’s encountered, and deals brilliantly with his homosexuality, cleverly turning this ‘revelation’ into a punchline of its own.

His flow is impeccable, his timing is brilliant, and he has an intimate understanding of comedic tension and release. The entire set is a joy, and I look forward to following the path of his career.

Sunderland’s Laughter Live provides a great night out at a reasonable price; a relaxed (if timid) audience; and a lovely atmosphere. My night was marred only by the birthday boy – who I doubt is a regular fixture, and don’t expect to see on January 11^th, when Laughter Live returns with Gary Delaney in the headline slot.