4/5 stars

The night started with compère Dave Twentyman, who warmed up the crowd with his lively, cheeky style and worked hard to get us involved. “Any birthday’s in tonight?” he asked, before launching into a hilarious critique of the differences between girls and guys’ birthday experiences. After he finished his opening routine, and dealt well with a few drunken heckles from the front, it only got better. Carl Donnelly, who might not have been the ‘headliner’, began storming it with his bizarre anecdotes and witty, self-deprecating style.

His routine stepped up another gear when the same heavily inebriated man in the front row decided to slur rather loudly in his direction. He relished the heckling giving him a chance to show us his sharp wit, his improvisation even funnier than his more scripted stuff. Brixton’s own Andre Vincent had a tough act to follow, but you knew soon as he stepped on stage he had seen it all before. His routine was slick and his wealth of experience shone through. It might have lacked some of the raucous laughter of Donnelly’s performance but had you chuckling from start to finish.

Hifi’s Saturday Sessions promises a laugh. As a venue, it really suits live comedy. As a small space, the intimacy puts all the emphasis on the comedians and their relationship with the audience. Well worth the tenner to see some top comedians in a small setting. When I left at ten it was hard to stop randomly grinning all night. There’s no doubt I’ll be back in the future.

Henry Rycroft