Variety of styles – and talent

TICKLED PINK SUPPORTING WOMEN IN COMEDY WITH A SHOW FOR LARGELY UNKNOWN COMEDIENNES

AFTER getting off to a slightly strange start with a comedienne pretending to be a Dalek, the Tickled Pink comedy showcase for female stand-ups turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

In what promised to be an ambitious night showcasing seven mostly unknown female comedians in just an hour (which turned out to be more like an hour-and-a-half), a huge variety of humour styles and talent was put on display to a packed crowd upstairs in the Firebug pub in Millstone Lane.

Some highlights included bisexual Texan Nikita Redkar, who proved, with her quick wit and requests for more female cat-callers, that humour is international.

Another surprise was Maddie Reckons, who, after a shaky beginning with a confusing joke about her Aspergers diagnosis, made the audience howl with her explanation as to why her ex-flatmate owed her £172.80.

An honourable mention should also go to the defiantly not-posh Pippa Hastings, who dealt deftly with a very talkative audience member.

However, by far the highlight of the night was Rachel Krieger, who with – what should have been – niche jokes about her Jewish heritage generated laugh after laugh from the crowd.

No topic on her faith was left unturned, with jokes on everything from bar mitzvahs to her stand-up set at a lunch for Holocaust survivors. No, really.

Move over Marvellous Mrs Maisel, there’s a new face in town.

This show was the first of five Tickled Pink shows this comedy festival, and if you choose to go, there is probably a four in seven chance that you will laugh.

Plus, it was pay-what-you-can, so, if nothing else, it could be a free night supporting women in comedy – of which there are definitely not enough.