While most Roses spectators were occupied with the ceremonial tossing of an oblong spheroid over in Huntington, York and Lancaster’s comedians asked, “Why can’t we all get along?” with a joint stand-up and improv gig in Vanbrugh. Leaving all of our completely justified reservations about each other to one side, the two universities put on a truly hilarious gig that proved that we might not agree on who should win Roses (York), but at least we all want to laugh.
And laugh we did. The first part of the show was Lancaster’s time to shine, with a number of stand up routines presented by York’s Lewis Dunn. Covering topics as diverse as naturally occurring compost heaps in student kitchens and musical spaghetti western re-imaginings of Hitler’s attack on Poland, these comedians each had their own style and way of finding common ground among all of us.
Particularly memorable was Ed Colley’s tangential self-deprecating examination of single life that somehow evolved into a social commentary on body image. Writing about it would not do this remarkably clever routine justice, but the audience absolutely loved it. Colley received one of the loudest rounds of applause of the evening and for good reason. Lancaster put on a terrific show that almost made us forget that we’re supposedly competing against them.
After a short interval, Charles Deane, the bearded chair of ComedySoc and director of York’s comedy troupe The Shambles, presented the improv portion of the show. The Shambles were joined by four of Lancaster’s comedians for seven games reminiscent of Whose Line is it Anyway, complete with audience participation.
Although Lancaster’s performers were generally funny, it was apparent that they did not have the same sort of experience and chemistry The Shambles have in performing with each other. Indeed, York’s Ed Greenwood and Lewis Chandler were especially on the ball in the second half, providing us with convincing impressions of Tom Jones, Norwegians, and ten-foot-tall limbo contestants.
Of course, improv shows are only as good as the audience, and this audience was fantastic. Without their enthusiasm for suggestions, we would not have witnessed Lewis and the two Eds perform a rom-com about the Plague set in Norway, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Brain (Pinky and the Brain). The sheer excitement in the room was contagious, and for once students from both universities could agree on something. At its heart, it was a tale of friendship, love, and reconciliation rivaling the examples set by Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and, to a lesser extent, The Shawshank Redemption.
But now that it’s Saturday, it’s time to pick up our clubs and sticks and bats once more and rally our troops to victory. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.