Jack Barry & Patrick Turpin: Your New Mild Friends

An uneven double bill of stand up. First up is young Jack Barry. Cursed with two first names, Barry is as affable as his show’s title would suggest. Beginning with a nice Google experiment for the audience to try, he then rambles through an uneven observational set interspersed with gentle audience interaction, until a decent routine on Cluedo ensures he finishes well. There’s certainly promise in the material here, but more confidence and better presentation are needed to enhance that.

Patrick Turpin is an entirely different beast. After a shaky start proves he’s comfortable with audience silence, he doubles down and reveals a deliberately provocative t-shirt gag. Once settled, he launches into an extensive routine on fried chicken establishments in London accompanied by some nice PowerPoint-esque material, deconstructing similar, more famous, routines. Some great stuff here, cleverly presented, but he struggles to bring it to a decent conclusion, and his remaining material is inconsistent.  

These are two very different young comedians, both with real potential, who need to work on bringing out the best in their material.