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It is rare that you ask a girl to come watch a gimp-based evening with you; however I’m glad I did because Late Night Gimp Fight is more than just gimp-based jokes. The night thankfully strays away from using base humour as its only punch line. In fact it was surprisingly intelligent. The highlights of the delightfully dark sketch based show came with the musical medleys, encompassing bestiality and losing your virginity, and the truly hilarious UV shows – think rapping toilet seats. Leaving the show, I heard people asking each other; “so who was your favourite gimp?” For once I didn’t feel the need to judge, mine was the ‘jock’.

The Old Market, 22 October
Rating:
Ben Scott

Yann Tiersen is probably best known for providing the whimsical Amelie soundtrack, but his live show featured four more musicians and was much more involved. He drew his hands through his grizzled hair amid a haze of dim coloured light, as the throbbing ambient guitars and keyboards combined in a wall of sound.

Bursting into a sweatily animated gypsy violin solo, backed only by industrial grinding and whooshing noises, Tiersen suddenly seemed to enjoy himself for the first time. The band rejoined him, gathering steam with tootling melodicas and pounding drumbeats worthy of Gogol Bordello. This uneven performance seemed rather underpowered.

Concorde 2, 21 October
Rating:
Rosie Clarke

Mark Allen’s quiz show regularly pits two comics against one another – and the audience – in a battle of wits, knowledge and skill. Tonight we struck it lucky with Trevor Lock and Thom Tuck in the hotseats (well, tall stools), and the format worked best as it revealed their less familiar talents. Lock’s off the cuff poetry composition and Tuck’s detailed Plasticine artwork both impressed, although neither could shoot a wild animal, i.e. ‘glamorous assistant’ Eli Silverman wearing a dartboard, at close range. Unlike the faked spontaneity of TV quizzes, Universal Genius wrung genuine improv responses from the rivals.

Upstairs at the Three and Ten, 21 October
Rating:
Stuart Huggett

Nick Helm is a force of nature, with a belligerence and adorable sweetness visibly fighting to reign as his onstage persona. This rock and roll comedy monster has shoehorned ‘dreams’ as his show’s theme this year, and by golly he’s going to utilise it. Mixing music with shouting, befriending, gags, ridiculous posturing and remarkable costume changes as well a certain amount of audience interaction, this blew our socks right off and into the next time zone. Helm’s greatest difficulty however is the brilliance of his show last year – Keep Hold Of The Gold – which left me with a grinning rictus, a high standard to maintain or meet. Still an utterly fabulous show.

Pavilion Theatre, Brighton Dome, 20 October
Rating:
Victoria Nangle