Review: Dan Antopolski and Colin Hoult

Friday 28th May, 8.00 at The Junction.  

Friday night got me thinking about the psychology of comedy. Are things funnier in smaller groups? A row from the front in an audience of no more than forty, certainly it would be rude to look bored, like yawning at a parent's friend at a drinks party. In comparison in the dark, packed and very showbiz set up of the same Junction 2 for Stewart Francis on Monday, there wasn't that eye contact to make you feel guilty for drifting.

Either way, the difference the scale makes is only a fascinating tangent. The point remains, I found last night a whole lot funnier.

Colin Hoult's Carnival of Magical Creatures was a bizarre and hilarious array of characterisations. Devoid of conventional punch lines, it was his enthusiasm and complete dedication to the cause that had us laughing at his failing actress, star of the disasterous 'Where's Mr Elephant?'. Perhaps his best creation, however, was Lance, a kow-towed judo instructor with an impeccably-observed East Midlands drawl. With a Transformers addiction. Obviously.

Midway through an in-depth symposium on the relative merits of Decepticons and Autobots – an acquired taste admittedly, but one that still managed laughs – Lance stopped, and struck a steely glare at a middle-aged couple on the back row.

"I saw you, shrugging; that's really great for a comic to see", he said, barely dropping the accent. Needless to say, it brought one of the biggest laughs of the first half.

With an adorable smirk that relished in being funny, Dan Antopolski was arguably even better. Whereas Holt's comedy veered towards the surreal, Antopolowski, despite a self-professed edginess, was excellently observed – a Dave Gorman-esque presentation on search engine trending of the phrase "I laughed my ass off" (past, present and future tenses, of course) was one of the most intelligent and well-rehearsed set-pieces I have seen on a stage.

And of course, a couple of glowing one-liners to make Francis blush: "How do women scare bees? Boobies!"

Groan.