Show Reports Henley Fringe Festival Comedy Cruise Headlined by Noel Britten
| Henley Fringe Festival Comedy Cruise Headlined by Noel Britten |
| Shows |
| Written by Richard Young |
| Wednesday, 22 July 2009 16:50 |
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Last year this event was the first Fringe show to sell out in advance. The idea is fantastic, a cruise along the Thames from Henley past all the amazingly extravagant houses of the rich and famous (including Paul Daniels and Debbie’s home) while being entertained in the sunshine by three comedians on the open air deck, and all for only £12! Sounds like a great evening doesn’t it? So I booked four tickets for myself and my partner and two magician friends. The Comedy Cruise for me was a chance to see if this guy really practices what he preaches. The evening unfortunately was marred by bad weather which resulted in the show being moved inside the boat. There were not enough seats for everyone and it got very hot indeed. In addition to this the audio was not brilliant and the people towards the back were struggling to hear. The first two comedians were unfortunately not very funny. The first being a female primary school teacher from Maidenhead. Although she started well the jokes unfortunately got worse and worse and she lost the audience and panicked and began rambling. By the end of her act no one was laughing and we felt her pain. The second comedienne unfortunately was even worse. She came in from the back of the audience clutching a broom decorated like a horse, she also forgot to use the microphone and unfortunately very little was funny and the silence was deafening. It was the most uncomfortable I have ever been watching any performer. An interval followed and the comments amongst the audience were just terrible. Noel Britten must have felt the pressure to be good, because we all certainly did! On the way home my friend said it was like watching a superhero work. I couldn’t agree more. Noel Britten literally saved this event and practiced everything he preached in his lecture notes. He was likable, modest, had the most brilliant timing and show structure and he was hilarious. The magic that was presented was just the right amount considering this was advertised as a comedy show. A heckler was dealt with and silenced with the perfect line; “I’d love to chat but I’m a bit busy at the minute”. He was also not afraid or embarrassed to acknowledge that the first half of the show wasn’t great when he commented; “it’s one of those nights where I wish I could swim.” I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone turn something around is such a spectacular fashion and I really think it would be fantastic to see if we can get Noel to lecture at the HCMS in the near future. |