Review: Have I Got News for York

There’s comedy: subtle, dry and at times plainly unfunny, and then there’s irreverent student political banter that revels in anti-Hes East puns and occasionally targets student media (Vision). The latter characterises that of this week’s famous ComedySoc event, Have I Got News For York, which, quite frankly, was the epitome of fanciful, off-the-rails hilarity.

The show started off with immediate laugh-out-loud comedy; ComedySoc put on a few improvised sketches for the first half of the event to tease the audience into their weird and wonderful mindset. As Have I Got News For York – or HIGNFY as it is usually shortened to – began after the interval, the audience were treated to a unique set of credits. These opening credits saw Chancellor Greg Dyke driving a rocket and several missiles landing on student newspaper offices – clearly a distinctive representation of the BBC 1 show itself. The panel was comprised of two regulars and guests including current YUSU president Kallum Taylor and Academics Officer Daniel Whitmore, which certainly heightened the level of repartee in the room.

The show, as always, was divided into several rounds which included ‘odd one out’ and ‘tabloid’. These were clever, albeit hugely frivolous, again adding to the overriding comedic structure of the show. Not all the humour came from the front stage, however, as one pro-Nouse audience member randomly called out “sexpose was a Nouse exclusive” midway through the show which, for the most part, gave us all reason to question their continuing existence.

Much of the credit must be given to the host, Lewis Dunn, who with endless amounts of gusto and enthusiasm kept the audience engrossed in huge levels of satire. Though the show prides itself on its sarcastic flair and ability to appear politically facetious, none are achievable without a host who can perfectly translate these to the audience. Of course, the other regs were good too.

I’d recommend all years to treat themselves to this lavish event when it next comes around. Without much debate, it is probably the funniest show to attend on campus.