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From the moment Andy Parsons walked on stage he had the audience’s full attention, who were waiting with eagerness for him to be true to form with his wit and ranting. He touched on subjects from politics, illnesses and ailments, political correctness to underpants in jars of mayonnaise. Opening up to the audience by delving into his past, on occasions he laughed at himself and his own jokes, which just made the audience laugh even more. Heckles just encouraged him to pick out people from the audience more. A fun-filled evening of laughter edged with more than a hint of sarcasm and topped off with his infamous cynicism.

Corn Exchange, Brighton Dome, 17 October
Rating:
Claire Peerless

From the word go Tommy Tiernan had our full attention. Switching from a gentle whispering storyteller to a snorting charging buffalo Tommy had us hooked. Tiernan shares himself with you, he doesn’t hold back – delving into his past, present and future to serve you helpings of side-splitting stories. The show covered issues regarding his mental health, his ability to be able to shout like a cowboy “heyah” and touching family moments with baboons. His random content kept us guessing and his cheeky charm allowed him to touch on subjects most would shy away from.

Pavilion Theatre, Brighton Dome, 14 October
Rating:
Tom Scrace

I’d heard great things and read rave reviews about this talented group. Did they live up the hype? Yes. Did they exceed my expectations? No. But then ask me to improvise live on stage and I wouldn’t get very far… With topics chosen by the audience – and subtly led by performer Dylan Emery – we quickly had a Brighton-based musical called ‘Pieramid’ (see what they did there?) set in the 1960s. With influences from Sondheim musicals, The Wizard Of Oz and… uh, boy bands, the Sondheim number hit the mark with input from all the cast (as did The Wizard Of Oz style number) but the boy band hit, although funny, wasn’t as well performed. Hats off to all, though; the story they created was funny and heartfelt – and the female leads were pure comedy gold with their delivery and stage presence. Great fun; an original idea performed by a talented group.

Corn Exchange, Brighton Dome
14 October
Rating:
Zara Baker

It’s Mike Wilmot! You know: Mike Wilmot? No? Brighton didn’t seem sure either as the Pavilion was just over half full. Which was a shame. The charmingly gruff silver-haired Canadian is not necessarily for the faint-hearted. But he is pure stand-up comedy and a bit of a legend. Swearing constantly and trying to control his anger at times, his topics covered: hiding out in the Canadian woods, the “Jimi Hendrix of ukulele players,” sex and midgets. He reminded me of Pulp Fiction (probably because he started talking about gimps). Like that film, his set was filthy and base and shocking but classily fantastically done. Classic.

Pavilion Theatre, Brighton Dome, 16 October
Rating:
Jim Holland