Showcasing some of the best comedians to come through London’s Waterloo Comedy Club, this is a good opportunity to see a variety of stand-ups as part of the Free Festival. Compère Ben Harrington did some competent audience banter, but seemed fairly anxious for most of the show. This didn’t feed into the atmosphere of the the gig too much, but it all felt quite rushed, and names of acts kept getting lost under Harrington’s calls for applause – not great for promotion. The line-up changes every day, but on this particular occasion the strongest sets included Alison Thea-Skot’s high-energy character comedy; lawyer/stand-up Kishore Nayar on his dislike of arguments, and surreal optimism from Pat Burtscher.

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 18-26 Aug, 2.45pm.
tw rating 3/5 | [Holly Close]