Kindness prevails in a new genre of comedy battle.
The principle of Boast in Show is simple. Instead of bashing your opponent like you would in a roast battle, you lavish them with compliments, kindness, and, er, taking a photo of their teenage self to visit their much-hated hometown (more on that later).
Hosted by affable chap, Carl Carzana, who offers Mr Bean bizarre with just a touch of Bruce Forsyth (trust us, it’s pleasing!), Boast in Show takes up its new home at Brighton Komedia for this, its Ultimate Champion edition. With a handcrafted, self-portrait Carzana trophy, complete with oil paint that won’t quite dry, and a full set of judges and an adjudicator on standby, we’re ready to begin.
First up, Natalie Bryce and Annabel Edmonds. Bryce appears as a powerhouse in a velvet suit. She playfully outs her opponent, Edmonds, as a former clothes-washing-dodger, proffering a discarded sock with an ode to her university days. Meanwhile, Cambridge grad and comedian Edmonds delivers quick wit and loving limericks to Bryce in her judge’s outfit, just losing out on proceeding to the final round.
Next up to the Boast post, we have Nina ‘stalker tendencies’ Semple and Martha ‘breast in show’ Casey. They bring on the weird in buckets, and we love it. Of particular cause for celebration, Casey highlighting that the name Nina means ‘enclosure of fish’. She follows with fish-based fawning for what must be a full minute. Extra points for the bloodied butchering of a Taylor Swift song, and crafting a deranged prom sash for a delighted Semple.
Semple sets new standards for insanity when she reveals that she went on a £72 train journey from Birmingham to Casey’s hometown of Plymouth, knocking on the door of her old family home, and visiting her preferred teenage hangout spots, such as the library. The audience and judges are in stitches, with a deserved full marks granted.
After a break, Elaine Fellows gets ballsy with her £9.99 Amazon bingo set; which is such a bargain, it has barely decipherable numbers. She has 90 compliments about her opponent, Kitty Cassis, ready, one for every single ball. She also summons ‘Cilla Black’ from the dead, for a brief appearance via voiceover, there to dispute her claim that Cassis was the original inventor of Blind Date. Impressive stuff.
Cassis, who is glamour personified in spangly sequins and iconic 80s hair, has developed a possibly, almost, slightly identical human tribute to Fellows. She’s dubbed the Elaine 4000, and available direct from Cassis for the humble price of £75.99. This offer catches the eye of the adjudicator, Simon Harriyott, leading to one of the biggest laughs of the night.
The winners of each round, Bryce, Semple and Fellows make increasingly surreal appeals to the judges, but it’s obvious to all involved that this night belongs to Semple, and she takes the win to rapturous applause. It’s rare and lovely to see an all-female line-up at a compilation show, especially one that isn’t trying to make this a marketing ploy. Each participant has proven their props at previous shows to reach this stage in the competition, and the fact they all happen to be women makes an excellent point. Other comedy producers, take note.
If there is one area of development for Boast in Show, it’s to up-the-stakes a little. The format is incredibly reliant on what each individual comedian brings to the table, with the most ludicrous offers getting the biggest laughs. There’s so many bells and whistles framing the main event. They’re fun, but are they squeezing the freshest juice out of this fantastic format? Possibly not. Having too many fun ideas is a lovely problem to have, though. This reviewer would love to see a quickfire round where comedians have to compliment their opponent on randomly selected topics on the spot. Or for there to be challenges for the contestants. A little jeopardy here would be fun for the audience, and really bring the judging and adjudicator roles into the light. They currently feel just a little underutilised.
On the judges and adjudication team, Dawn Williams is an absolute vision in white, and leads the judging team with infectious laughter. She invites participants to rub a tiny patch of ribcage in the cut-out of her dress, promising luck, lottery wins and handcrafted Carl Carzana trophies in their future. Max Geddes, Waitrose escapee, now comedian, reveals his credentials for the post, and Joe Foster demonstrates down-on-his-luck Miami cop vibes to complete the judging panel. They’re supported by Brighton comedy favourite Simon Harriyott as the adjudicator – the smartest man you’ve ever seen in a tailcoat and Mountain Warehouse shorts.
Before we finish this review, we must return to the host, Carzana, as Boast is very much his baby. There’s almost a party atmosphere in the room, and he’s clearly much-loved with the local crowd – for good reason. It’s not an easy job being an MC, and Carzana manages to be thoroughly likeable, beautifully bumbling, and run a somewhat complicated show all at the same time. The little moments bring much laughter, from a silly smiley face patch tucked in his oversized jacket pocket, to accidentally tipping no-secco all over the stage, leading Semple to declare ‘My crown is wet’ as she is anointed. Bravo.
Carzana finishes the evening reflecting on the journey of what once felt like a silly idea, crafted in Brighton’s backstreet bars, one which now calls the most well-known comedy venue in South East England home. He encourages the audience to give their own silly ideas a try, and this reviewer leaves feeling more than a little inspired.
Here in Brighton, we reject the notion of a normal roast battle. We like Sunday roasts, not rude ones. Kindness first, always. Heart-warming, silly and uplifting. For the friendliest comedy on the south coast, head to Boast in Show.
Reviewed on 10 September. Next show 11 December.
