Comedy Review: Comedy­Sportz

Taking the competitiveness of short form improvisation to the nth degree, Comedy­Sportz is less a showcase of comic invention and more a family-friendly template of parlour games that might keep kids amused on a rainy day.

Comedy­Sportz

Penalising competitors for lines that are “too lascivious” or “too much of a ‘dad joke’” – though the latter rule is manifestly not enforced – these online matches from the Manchester Comedy team reside in a narrow furrow of amiability that seldom grabs you with the zing of wit, despite the reasonable comedy pedigree of those involved. It passes the time, perhaps all you can demand of live, donation-based entertainment right now.

Pitching two teams of two against each other, with Manchester-based American stand-up Kate McCabe refereeing on the night I caught the show, the switching rounds format will be familiar to anyone who has ever seen Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Suggestions are solicited from the audience via the online chat function, and thus you get Miss Piggy and David Attenborough auditioning for roles in Grease.

An hour feels too long to sustain it. And the laissez-faire oversight of the likeable but breezy McCabe results in self-indulgence from the players when a tighter approach might yield punchier results.

TWO STARS