The first Perrier Award was won by Cambridge Footlights, including Hugh Laurie, the most expensive US TV star de nos jours and Stephen Fry, whose new book is an Xmas-bestseller-to-be. The Footlights usually do well but they have slipped up in recent years, allowing the crown of Best Uni Sketch Show to be without a head to adorn. This year, as with 2009, the one to beat comes from the West of England, and Bristol; Simon Amstell guffawed last year when I caught them and here Jack Whitehall does the honours, lapping up every skit of which, and I don’t say this lightly, every single one is a winner.
Cars from the Future (“ooohhhhhh yeah!”) and Movies from the past (“I’m going to see a play”) provide two of the quick, interlinking segments between larger skits, one of which involves a parody of dino-related film. If 1993 is nostalgia I am very old, and all the better to enjoy the next generation of comedy. Offended elephants and schizophrenic gags brought consistency to the show, and throwaway lines like “the future - where Jamie Theakston is queen of Zambia” provide extra laughs. In five years, this troupe could be stars of their own, without the “Bristol Uni presents…” tag.
If I could give a star to all six of them, I’d break the ratings system, so be content with five, chaps.
