Live Review: Lowdown at the Albany, London
Words: Konrad Obiora
8 June 2006

Comedy duo sisters Lauretta and Sharon Gavin (Gavin & Gavin) acted as comperes for the final showcase of the fourth Funny Women Awards.

The sixteen performers competing for a place at the semi-finals were a mix of amateur and semi-professional stand-up comedians.

In the audience were Lynn Parker, founder of Funny Women, and two 'celebrities' - Anton Du Beke from BBC's Strictly Come Dancing and actor Vincent Franklin from the British film Confetti.

The calibre of the performances was generally good and it would be no surprise if at least two of the comedians from this showcase made it to the semi-finals.

Here is a round up of the performances:


Jackie Lynn

Jackie's nerves showed as she opened the evening's showcase but the audience was very supportive of Jackie as she stumbled through her set. To her credit Jackie fought through her nervousness and managed to finish her set.

Jackie talked about the widow's peak, a v-shaped impression on the forehead, which according to folklore on a woman denotes that she will outlive her husband.

She also talked about her habit for pulling faces whilst walking along high streets and how this unusal habit came about. The set ended on a baffling note when Jackie talked about lonely-heart ads.

This was probably Jackie's first time performing in front of an audience. Her nerves affected her timing and the order in which she delivered her anecdotes and jokes. Hopefully Jackie will take her experience at the showcase as a learning experience and work on those areas that she is weakest.


Carole Rugger

Carole talked about her time living in Los Angeles. She did an amusing bit about women who chose to have "a Brazilian", which was by far the funniest part of her set.

There were observations about raising teenage children, which was rather mediocre. She also talked about her previous life as a party animal at the Embassy Club in the 1980s.

At times Carole's set seemed to meander but in general her performance was good and she projected a confident stage presence.


Lou Sanders

Lou was one of the best acts of the night. She opened her set by asking the audience "who likes football? [A few shouts of "yes" from the audience] good because we're going to talk about relationships".

She proceeded to talk about taking a previous relationship to the next level, which Lou followed with a hilarious bit about having sex with a former boyfriend.

Lou talked about the three types of boyfriends who all had peculiar sexual habits, which raised howls of laughter from the audience. She ended her set on a dietary theme and asked the audience.

It was a good performance and Lou engaged well with the audience, which clearly enjoyed her set.


Hazel Humphreys

Hazel opened her set by talking about the hot weather. She told the audience that whereas men sweat, women glow "well in that case" said Hazel "I've been glowing like a fat pig."

The vivacious stand-up comedian talked about being recently married and made some funny observations about married life.

Hazel had some fantastic material about lesbian friends. It was an inspired piece of comedy that delighted the audience.

Towards the end of the set Hazel delivered one final observation about Jesus and his inability to remember his disciples' names.

Hazel who has been performing stand-up comedy since 2003 was excellent and should make it to the semi-finals.


Shona Lavine - Number One Pet Psychic

Shona took to the stage with her Chinese Crested toy dog called Tallulah cradled in her arm. Shona told the audience that Tallulah was an extraordinary psychic dog and that she was the "spiritual plumber" who could communicate with Tallulah.

Shona picked a volunteer from the audience to demonstrate Tallulah's ability to read minds and translate them to Shona however, time conveniently ran out and the audience had to take Shona's word for it.

The audience adored Tallulah and enjoyed the set. The set was a novelty and made an impression but it was probably an act that will not make it the semi-finals.


Holly Walsh

Holly is a familiar face on the London comedy circuit. With a bemused expression on her face and dishevelled hair, Holly started her set with a poem and talked about being diagnosed as a mute.

The set was full of excellent one-liners as Holly shared her philosophies on life. There was a macabre joke involving Bridget Jones and Anna Frank, which was well constructed and delivered. Holly ended her set by telling the audience that she was mind reader.

The other acts performing at the showcase included Viv Arkley whose best line was about mulit-tasking, observing that men could not multi-task except when it came to orgies; Grainne Maguire who did some good impressions of Drew Barrymore and Audrey Hepburn; Lucy Jagger, Holly Burn, Toni Green, Kayla Ford, Sadie Goldburg, Jen Banks and Wendy Reed who closed the showcase.


Sarah-Louise Young

Stand-up comedian and actor Sarah-Louise was one of the highlights of the evening with material that was both funny and dark.

Sarah-Louise opened her set with her thoughts on Big Brother 7 and her suggestion that in the USA they should have an American version called Big Daddy.

Sarah-Louise talked about moving to Brixton and made some amusing observations about Brixton tube station and the checkout staff at the mini Sainsbury's.

There were some highbrow jokes sprinkled in the set as well as some cheap one-liners for example Sarah-Louise talked about losing a job at an adult call-centre.

Sarah-Louise gave a strong performance and this review would expect to see her in the semi-finals later this month.

The semi-final heats will take place on 19 June in Manchester and 21 June in London.

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