A comedy hornucopia

If you’re after the top brass in local comedy, look no further. Small Trumpet, Sydney University’s very own weekly comedy night, was launched last Wednesday and we’re in for a treat.

Despite Poseidon’s efforts, Hermann’s filled out to see stand up, songs and sketches. The line-up was bursting with comedic talent such as ABC-approved Stu Daulman and Triple-J certified Gen Fricker as well as homegrown Sydney Uni spuds like Sarah Gaul, Freudian Nip and The Reuben Ward Experience.

Stu Daulman was a successful MC, setting the ball rolling with a snappy, self-deprecating style. He occasionally dropped into an is-it-creepy-is-it-charming step-dad laugh that wasn’t really a hit but would wrench the audience onside with pure self-awareness (“Yeah, I quit my job for this shit”).

Fiona Cox delivered a sharp deconstruction of the idiosyncrasies of “smart-casual” events with a dry wit reminiscent of Rita Rudner. Meanwhile, Eric Hutton deconstructed our fastest-sperm pride and earned some of the biggest laughs of the night.

Ange Lavoipierre picked apart the nitty gritty details of moon cups and birth with down-to-earth honesty while Jamie Timony was about as far from earth as it gets with an intentionally awkward stage presence and a poem about chopping off his feet.

Opening up act two, Sarah Gaul was “interrupted” by Patrick Morrow and Aidan Molins, who delivered a smorgasbord of one liners they’d cooked up with the perfect ratio of three parts laughs and two parts groan.

Recovering quickly from being sidelined, Gaul’s musical piece (“Are bikes people or cars?”) had the audience in hysterics and afforded her a huge round of applause to match her beaming stage presence.

Cameron James was one of the most professional comics there, despite drawing blood when he accidentally bludgeoned himself with the microphone. His smooth transitions and well-practiced rendition of traumatising paintball experiences had him ducking and groaning across the stage.

Freudian Nip carried the torch for sketch enthusiasts, running across the line with uncanny impressions of their own mums that had one half of the audience thanking their lucky stars they left home and the other half decrying the housing bubble that’s keeping them in parental purgatory.

Meanwhile, Gerard McGeown lamented the weekly paycheque that reminds him he’s an “unskilled labourer” and set up a string of belly laughs before fizzling gracefully.

Gen Fricker’s piece took the opposite trajectory – starting slow with acne tribulations before turning it up a notch with her outstanding song: ‘You’ve Ruined Me for White Guys’.

The show ended with The Reuben Ward Experience which had all the excitement of reality television and none of the OH&S concerns as a man ate razorblades and we loved every moment of it.

The launch was a success and ground control says all systems are go.