The Manchester Revue is the resident comedy society at the University of Manchester, and they do not disappoint. Every showcase and social is packed with non-stop laughter, and whether you are a budding stand-up, a sketch performer, or a drag queen, there is a place within the Revue to test and present you ideas.
The Semester 2 opening social for the Revue society proved to be another hit. ‘Last One Laughing’ had everyone laughing, including those competing and trying their best to keep a straight face. The night consisted of 5 sketches from various pairs of Revue performers, as well as a DJ set which had the basement of Bar Pop rolling.
The night opened with two pop culture parodies: firstly Ruby Coyte and Fraser Crook’s parody of the Australian twins who speak in perfect synchronisation with one another, before Martha Croxen and Sophie Hampshire took the stage to satirise the Beckham family drama. Both performers threw themselves into the hilariously exaggerated caricatures of Victoria and David.
The third, fourth and fifth performances leaned more into original character work with Daisy Herridge and Hannah Manville playing a baby and confused care figure. This particular sketch was a delightful slice of absurdist comedy, with the nappy being filled with various objects and even a dance interlude. After this, Aila Macnaughtan-Clark and Larkin Armstrong took to the Bar Pop stage as Girl Guides raising money for a verruca charity and singing “Candy Store” from the musical Heathers. Their performance was not only funny but perfect for the crowd of theatre patrons and enjoyers. The final performance of the night came from Revue co-presidents Hope Briggs and Aiden Concannon, performing an original song named ‘Shelly Had a Dog’ whilst writhing around the stage and leaving the audience with their sides splitting.
By night’s end, the audience were well warmed up into the festivities of the Revue society. Similarly, in their showcases the Revue bring outgoing, fresh comedy. Prior to the Christmas break Revue put on their Christmas Showcase, which was again bursting with original characters and witty, fresh comedic ideas.
The show opened with a short Grandad Bubbles sketch, who we were introduced to in the Revue’s first show of the semester. Harry Petts once again shines with a combination of classic old man puns and cheeky jokes. Grandad Bubbles was the perfect way to warm the crowd up for an evening of hilarious entertainment, and the character’s confused, disgruntled persona will remind anyone of their own grandad.
After, Bubbles had left the stage, we, the audience, were whipped into shape with Joe Cosgrove’s drag aerobics act. Cosgrove combines lip-syncing, dancing, acrobatics and comedy in an outstanding showcase of what is possible within Revue. Additionally, Cosgrove conveys perfectly through expression and movement an exactingly precise comedic timing, proving he is one to watch.
The final part of the show, the Christmas cast, presents a fast-paced and consistently funny series of sketches, with the throughline of time travel. The sketches begin with a meta reference to the Christmas show budget for Revue, and how they have blown it on a party and must therefore time travel to reverse the budget issues. Time travel allows for many different characters to be created throughout the show, starting in 2012. The first sketch warms the audience into the silly satirical comedy of the Christmas cast with a mock anti-homophobia school speech, lampooning the tone-deaf style that these groups often have. In the initial sketch Lillias Manning immediately goes all in with his commitment to the exaggerated characters and becomes a real stand out in the cast.
There are simply too many sketches for me to talk about everything that occurs in the chaos of the Christmas show, although I will mention some of the highlights. One sketch which stood out to me was a “morning after” sketch where it was revealed that the characters had been on a girl’s night out the night before, and were unsure whether or not they were the cause of The Great Fire of London. This sketch had many funny moments of concern from girls who might have forgotten to turn off the oven or their hair straighteners, leading to the outbreak of the fire. Another moment, which proved an audience favourite, was the Robin Hood as a ‘performative male’ sketch. Fraser Crook as Robin Hood left the audience in fits of laughter, making reference to his tote bag and the matcha he was going to buy. The girls in the sketch provided the perfect role of the love-struck fools competing for Robin Hoods attention, creating false stories of their misfortune in order to get the man’s attention.
In the middle, though there were some elements that got less laughs, there were no sketches which the audience did not like. Another standout sketch is a plague outfit design contest, featuring a camp, funny exaggerated caricature of a fashion designer satirising the elaborate outfit that the plague doctors would wear. Lastly there is the “historical figures on Hinge” sketch – Guy Fawkes, Henry VIII and finally Sigmund Freud show their potentials as dating candidates on the popular dating app. This pointed out the myriad not-so-fine qualities as romantic partners these men possess, providing the audience with many hilarious one liners and laughs.
Unfortunately, there was only two nights to go and see the Christmas show, but the Manchester Revue is most certainly a society to keep your eye on. Whether you wish to perform or simply attend and have your sides splitting with laughter, the Revue will welcome you with open arms.
