Promising an evening of wit, satire and general hilarity, this week’s ComedySoc show was a back-to-back, double-whammy of improv-troupe The Shambles and Have I Got News for York. ComedySoc certainly delivered, putting on a crowd-pleasing show with sea shanties, (somewhat) intelligent wit and an Alan Rickman impression.
First up, running onstage to riotous applause were The Shambles. You have to admire their energy – it’s infectious, and the whole audience was soon swept up into a roar of merriment and mirth. I’m always amazed at how quick and confident The Shambles are; they’re able to enter into ridiculous situations and bounce off each other, showing their skill at jumping on the back of whatever comes their way, including other cast members. The main issue with improv is the dependence on the audience; luckily for The Shambles, the imaginations of York students range from the witty and intelligent to the outright deranged and slightly perverted. Here you can shout out ridiculous things in public and get prizes for it – audience participation at its best. Yet the best thing about the Shambles is that next time, it’s going to be different. The rotation of cast and rounds means you’re never going to see the same show twice.
Have I Got News For York, the second part of the night’s show is based on (you guessed it) the TV show of a very similar name and throws a satirical light on all sorts of campus news. I’d argue that sticking to the aforementioned show’s structure, although providing a decent starting point, limits the potential of the panelists. To be honest, it’s a fault I find with the original show more than anything – spontaneity can be restricted, and the jokes can seem obvious. The usual victims of York’s scorn were ridiculed, with Willow, building works, vice-chancellors and general waterfowl all mocked mercilessly. Like most panel shows, the best parts were when the panel went off-topic, with the more spontaneous rounds being far sharper and stronger than the more topical ones – a favourite has to be the ‘Missing Word’ round, with Charles Deane throwing sperm donors into any headline possible. Altogether, the panel was strong, with Tom Keefe stealing the show. YUSU President Tim Ellis’s appearance on the panel gave rise to a mockery of the University’s administration – just like the mockery of Parliament when the TV show’s panel features an MP.
The two shows complimented each other well; whilst The Shambles causes belly laughs and some horribly undignified snorts of laughter, HIGNFY invokes the wry smile and (what one hopes is) a witty chuckle. All in all, ComedySoc are a pretty damn good night’s entertainment. Any show that can start with superhero sidekick Oxymoron Man and end with a joke combing police brutality and Penguin bars is alright in my book.