Liam Williams’ Stand Up Show

ADC Theatre, 17th January, 11pm, £5-6

[rating: 4/5]

Comedy Cat Liam Williams delivers a night of well-pitched stand up, mixing comic poetry and abuse of The Tab in equal measure.

His material ranged between truly inspired segments to actually quite dull moments, but the delivery and timing were so spot-on that the weaker sections still managed to resonate with the audience. That said, his disorganised style and reliance on a number of notes and prompts did begin to grow a little old towards the end of the night.

Focusing mostly on his time at Cambridge and his regular return trips to the city, Williams made the best use of an already-friendly crowd. He re-lived his vomit covered Cindies moments and desperate attempts to woo the women of Cambridge, with the charm and flair of someone who’s really in control of what they’re doing.

But under his exterior of crazy hair and sad eyes, Williams is a cruel, cruel man. He opened with a long tirade against our very own Theatre Guide Dog, mocking her meanness and her ability to “notice” that his show has exactly the same name as last year. He did, however, concede that her face was quite fit. If a little severe. And on a dog.

The show culminated in Williams’ attempts to show off his comic diversity to any watching May Ball committee members through a live advertisement of his range of abilities. This was possibly the highlight of the evening and would have made the perfect end. Unfortunately, Williams chose to finish on a poem which began strongly but – I must admit – lost my attention as the finale became more serious, and frankly quite sad.

Williams was ably supported by Henry Staples. Although initially apprehensive about his mumbling delivery, constant pacing and lack of eye contact, Staples’ material was excellent. Of particular note were a number of altered 50 Cent song lyrics and an hilariously Cambridge segment about jury duty.

Although obviously spurred on by the friendly audience, Staples did a fabulous job of starting the night off in style and his deadpan delivery was a good compliment for Williams’ more whimsical muses.

A really good way to begin what promises to be a big term in Cambridge comedy, Liam Williams’ Stand Up Show was charming and funny, if a little unfocussed at times. A very sound investment of an hour of my life.