3/5 stars

With a name as bizarre and beguiling as ‘Mutant Milk’ I was pretty sure that Leeds’ alternative student comedy night could not fail to be ‘alternative’. The few audience members who had managed to fight off the snow monsters and blizzards were treated to psychotic music from compere Edy Hurst who thrilled the audience with an exuberantly acted sketch about a worm army invasion. The animal theme continued with the first headliner of the night, American comic Kate McCabe, who impersonated her cat Kitty Sanchez’s escape from the litter tray. In her own words, McCabe was ‘mildly obsessed with scatological humour’ and thus ensued repeated references to ‘poop’ as she delivered original and quirky material on Beatrix Potter’s failed characters, such as City Pigeon Joanne Shitefoot, complete with illustrations. McCabe’s frank and wacky humour, delivered with confidence and a hint of self-mockery made for a memorable start to ‘Mutant Milk’s ensemble.

Michael Hewitson followed with a more subtle form of humour and knack for telling tales which left the audience chuckling. Peter’ Brush’s deliberately self-conscious and awkward humour grew a little tiresome, and he was briefly followed by Thom Milson whose material centred on old men and dating websites. Kev Eadie captured the audience’s imagination with an elaborate womb analogy, and was self-assured in his delivery. Lastly, Jon Newell’s hard-hitting humour and standard crowd-work gags set the stage for the final headliner Liam Pickford. With a shambolic on-stage presence and disjointedly intense act which flitted from mocking social stereotypes and hating on students, to a gag on stump hand mittens, I personally felt bamboozled, but Pickford sure did milk the laughs.

With such a wide variety of acts and styles of humour, Mutant Milk should congratulate itself on re-awakening my comedic psyche and reminding me why it feels so good to laugh. If you are keen to re-engage with your funny bone in the dingy depths of the Union’s pulse and experience the weird, the wonderful, and the worrisome, then this is the comedy night for you.

Charlotte Duffield