(trigger warning: mentions of sex and depression)

A perfect comedy cocktail of local talent.

Tonight, I had the privilege of watching the Birmingham Comedy Festival Breaking Talent Award. It was full of nominee stand-up comedians competing for the prize: a well-envied mug. Arguably, the bigger prize was having the opportunity to perform for this award. The Breaking Talent Award pushes up-and-coming comedians into the spotlight. As the host of the evening (James Cook) told us, many well-known comedians were nominees for this award early in their career, including Nish Kumar and Fern Brady. I am so excited to have potentially seen some future famous comedians that people will one day fight over tickets to see.

As I walked into the venue (The Glee Club, Birmingham), I was welcomed with a quirky, colourful interior. There were signed pictures of famous comedians such as Rachel Paris and James Acaster on the wall; I knew we were in for a good night full of potential. As the lights dimmed, the anticipation for the night ahead rippled over the audience.

After Cook warmed up the audience, we welcomed the first nominee onto the stage. Rich Spalding emerged smiling and waving, with the audiences’ cheers surrounding him. His comedy was observational, making normal life seem hilarious. He discussed the economy, being recently engaged, marriage, and hen dos. As he had promised in the preview, his show was ‘relaxed storytelling with a cerebral touch’.

Dom Bant was the next act. A huge juxtaposition to Spalding’s entrance, Bant walked onto the stage with no eye contact, smiles or intonation. His set was dead- pan, dry and sarcastic. Bant was a hit with the audience, with the row behind me crying with laughter. Bant certainly delivered what he set out to, as he said in the preview to expect ‘volatility and melancholy’ jokes.

After a quick interval, we welcomed on the third act. Gareth Williams walked onto the stage with friendly flamboyance. He told us in the preview, to expect, ‘a bit of crude, a bit of honest and hopefully a whole lot of laughs!’ The audience certainly responded well to William’s self-depreciating humour. He discussed depression and therapy, having a boyfriend, and what he gets up to on the weekend (hint: due to keeping it PG, I cannot share).

The fourth act was Lin Smith. In contrast with Williams’ fun-loving flamboyance, Smith entered the stage with no smiles, and an angry demeanour. This got lots of laughs from the audience, and as her show continued, she pursued this angry, sarcastic tone. Smith started her set with jokes about being a ‘bad lesbian’ and puns of famous people’s names. She also discussed mental health in an honest but hilarious way.

The final act was Tom Towelling. Eccentric and wacky, Towelling’s set left the audience confused but in hysterics. Towelling started his set with a unique version of ‘God save our King’ into a synth microphone. The audience loved this, apart from one member who walked out in offence to the unusual rendition. When Towelling finished the song he said, ‘So, I’m a maths teacher’, which got plenty of chuckles. Towelling’s set was full of creative jokes and physical comedy, combining music, art and dance into his act. The audience loved him.

After another interval, we had the headliner, Sarah Callaghan. Then the time came to announce the winner of the Birmingham Comedy Festival Breaking Talent Award 2024. Cook announced it was Tom Towelling. He confirmed that it had been a close call for the judges. Rarely heard of, they wanted to celebrate a runner up and give a special commendation to Dom Bant.

Fabulously fun, the Birmingham Comedy Festival Breaking Talent Award created many laughs. The evening flew by, and I was sad to see it end. Most importantly, it was a celebration of Birmingham comedy and a way to lift up local talent. If I were you, I would keep an eye out for the nominees; I don’t think this is the last we’ve heard from them. Watch this space.

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