Review by Ella Lloyd

This show was pigging brilliant, as Barbara Nice would say.

Nice was the perfect host for the Leicester Comedy Festival’s, Silver Stand Up final – bubbly, flamboyant and crazy.

Watching her bust some dance moves to 60s throwback music, was like watching your gran at a party after one too many Pear Drops.

She was unpredictable like the change of wind. Where would she end up next?

Climbing on top of the chairs, that’s where. Nice made sure that everybody in the audience got involved with her cheesy sing-along.

Read more: See our Leicester Comedy Festival reviews here.

The 90-minute show was a nonstop whirlwind as the eight acts competed against one another in five-minute slots.

First up was Glen Stone. He played with the typical ‘let me read your mind’ theme. Guaranteed to make you crease, even when you already know that he has absolutely no clue what card ‘Judy in the audience’ is thinking of.

Next, Jenny Bolt, who spoke candidly of her overgrown private parts. Savage – and the easily embarrassed in the crowd must have been sinking low into their chairs.

Showcasing his slow, serious and stern style, Robin Banks joked about the silver linings in each and every situation. Good or bad there was always a cracking pun involved.

Pleasing the room with her original themes, Karen Blott caught the crowd’s attention with her dry sense of humour. Her accent came across as upper-class, but her content was common as muck.

Wearing his red, sparkly shirt, Jimbo entered the stage looking like he was about to perform on Dancing On Ice. It was definitely eye-catching. He joked about the consequences of taking drugs as part of his act. Judging by his performance, it’s not entirely clear whether it was just a joke.

Margaret Pinder focused on politics. Of course, there is always one. Four-time Silver Stand Up finalist, Kevin Hudson was fantastic. The audience were very appreciative of his old-school jokes.

The show ended on an absolute belter. Daniel Rubinstein pulled it out the bag with his musical routine. He completely nailed Britney Spears’ backing track and his impersonation of Jimmy Hendrix – kneeling on the floor, making wailing guitar sounds – was immense, and the highlight of the whole show. Although, the judges didn’t seem to think so, as they crowned Jenny Bolt as the competition’s 2020 winner.

Review by Kyran Kennedy

In another top-drawer performance, Jo Enright gave one of the most entertaining church sermons the Leicester public will have seen in years.

The Birmingham-born stand-up was back in Leicester almost 25 years after winning the Mercury Comedian of the Year award at the 1996 festival.

You might consider it an odd choice of venue for a comedy show, but it was the perfect choice of venue for Jo’s humour.

Her witty lines and tales about the people she grew up around and the odd sights she’s seen were all too relatable for the audience. She also had no qualms about poking fun at herself to earn a good laugh.

Turning a pun in to a story worth sharing is something that Jo exceeds at. She’s been to plenty of cities and towns across the UK and seems like she has a story for each of them, but if not she can always rely on her birthplace to provide an often outrageous story – though some of her jokes may put people off visiting places in Birmingham.

Read more: See our Leicester Comedy Festival reviews here.

People from all walks of life could certainly find fun in an act like this, but at another venue the material could easily suit a late-night audience with more adult tones included.

Also, it was a great solo show. Covering well over an hour and keeping the audience entertained can be tough, even for a group of comedians all performing on the same show.

But to keep the interest high until the end is something that Jo can be proud of and undoubtedly shows her range.

This act showed why Jo has been on the comedy circuit for more than two decades and can likely continue to get laughs up and down the country for years to come.

The former ‘The Job Lot’ star could certainly earn herself a few more TV roles if her performances match up to this week in week out.

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