Imran Yusuf: Wedgewood Rooms Comedy Club

Having never been to a comedy club, or the Wedgewood Rooms before, I wasn’t really sure what to expect, apart from hopefully lots of laughs. It took a while for the entertainment to actually start, an hour and a half in fact, but it was definitely worth the wait.

The first act of the night was Zoe Lyons, who I recognised from ‘Mock the Week’, and she was just as good as on the TV. She has a great way of using imagery to make things funny, for instance she made a good point that spiders would be a lot less scary if they were extremely camp, and instead of scurrying, they minced across the carpet. She’s a very naturally funny lady and is clearly very comfortable on stage, which is understandable because according to her she’s ‘never had a proper job’. She made the audience very comfortable when she was performing, and even when she interacted with the people at the front it was in a light hearted friendly way, which helped avoid any awkwardness. She’s definitely a must see act.

Next was magician Ali Cook, who I hadn’t heard of but apparently he has been in programmes on Channel Four, Five and Sky 1. His act was full of gross magic tricks which were at times a bit hard to take. His final trick was eating razor blades, which would have been impressive if it didn’t contain masses of fake blood, this was personally a bit too hard to stomach, but I’m sure less squeamish people would enjoy this type of thing. He was very clever and the tricks were impressive but he is a bit of an acquired taste.

The headline act was Imran Yusuf, a cockney comedian who came to fame on ‘Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow’ who was particularly hilarious. Obviously the best way to judge comedians is by seeing which one makes you laugh the most, and Yusuf won by far. His use of racial comedy without alienating the audience was clever and frankly brilliant. I also loved the way he ended his act in a similar way to Russell Howard on his ‘Good News’ programme, by finishing on a light hearted note, talking about how we are all the same and we should live together peacefully.

At the end of the night my sides were actually hurting from all the laughing, which is proof enough that it was a hilarious evening. I strongly recommend giving the Wedgewood Rooms Comedy Club a try as it has a great atmosphere and you’ll come away with a great big smile on your face.