The Alter Comedy club kept up the standard of comedy set by their debut night when four more acts from the national circuit appeared at the Hub at St Mary’s.
The evening was hosted by the comedy duo Shelf. The female duo’s short sets interspersed the night and explored everything from school days and drinking underage in pubs, to songs that took in the tweeness of strummed acoustic guitar, but put it to a slightly wearier world view.
The musician and comedian Kate Lucas also took a slightly darker worldview in her songs.
With titles such as the self-explanatory The Hating Your Kids Song or The Comments Section, this was not a singer-songwriter who wanted to give the audience an easy ride.
A number that was about a vengeful partner haunting her lover after death was particularly well put together, even if the method of delivery and maintaining eye contact with audience members while it was performed meant that it was a memorable 20 minutes.
Comedian Eric Rushton also had a slightly dark act and was not going for the easy laughs.
Having won the Leicester Comedian of the Year Award in 2020, his set was cleverly written. Although some jokes were a bit outre, it added to an evening that had already provided a lot of variety.
Headliner Eshaan Akbar has enjoyed a successful career in comedy, having appeared on shows such as Mock the Week.
His set encompassed topics ranging from his race and his religion, but he also asked questions about where comedy and comedians should draw the line in what they say.
Nights like this prove that comedy doesn’t have to just have to be about the easy laughs – sometimes it makes us look at the world from an alternative view and appreciate lives that are different to the one that we have.
The next Alter Comedy Club is on 15th June.
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