4/5 stars

The words ‘crash and burn’ come to mind when I think of free stand-up combined with pissed students. Visions of rolling tumbleweeds fill the brain. Luckily, Pigeon Hole Comedy proves me wrong. Brudenell Social Club is a great location for the night: a popular student haunt, the comedy flowed as freely as the cheap beer and by the time the compere took to the mic, the venue was packed and ready for some comic relief to aid the January blues. Our compere for the evening got the ball rolling with a few standard gags to warm up the audience. No comedy genius, but a worthy compere nonetheless.

The first act, Eddie French, was nothing short of brilliant. Firstly, he sports a quiff worthy of the The King, but that’s just one of many reasons why we loved him. Opening with a side-splitting ‘aerobics for comedians’ gag, he boasted a comedy repertoire that comic giants would be proud of. After French, the other comedians had a hard act to follow.  Rich Austin had a clear, dead-pan style: some amusing moments, but constant references to his kids and the Teletubbies alienated him from the student based audience and often fell a bit flat. Similarly, Peter Brush’s awkward-on-purpose self-deprecation had its moments, but wasn’t outstanding. The laughs picked up with Simon D. Heaven’s signature Jimmy Carr-esque laugh and punchy one-liners, and ended on a fantastical note with the brilliantly mad Will Seaward. Seaward’s role playing, storytelling-style humour was a perfect end to the night and the more pissed people were, the more they laughed. Pigeon Hole has a lot on offer. fantastic evening of comedy for anyone, let alone a bunch of skint students, with a great variety of acts. Who said nothing in life is free?

Rebecca Wignall