Now, let me start this review by stating that I am not an easy person to make laugh. I’m nearly hitting my mid-fifties and have slowly, unnoticed, slipped into that bracket of “grumpy old men”, where I stare at some contemporary comics on the TV and wonder where my first laugh will come from. So it was with trepidation – for Felicity, not me – that I took on the role to review her show at the CCA in Glasgow on World Mental Health Day.

We were ten seconds in, yes, ten seconds, when I succumbed to my first uncontrollable burst of laughter, as Felicity opened her show with what seemed like a manic, unscripted, friendly tirade of funny references to herself and her mental state – and indeed the mental state of the audience for being there in the first place on a Monday night! Her opening instantly won everyone over as she emitted total confidence, displaying her natural gift for off the cuff humor through a hilarious Q&A exchange with her audience.

Felicity described how the night would go by stating that the first half would be her flying by the seat of her pants, improvising and trying out some new material. The second half was material taken from her acclaimed show at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. I have to be honest here and say I preferred the first half, where I felt Felicity’s natural comedic talents really shone through. The second half was very funny in its own right, but more anecdotal and without quite the same ratio of gags fired out in the first half. Having said that, Felicity certainly showed an appetite for performing at this well attended evening. Her overall show was first class and very funny, and this “grumpy old man” has to thank her for that. 

by Colin MacGregor

There is a strong comedy programme in the west of Scotland at SMHAFF 2016, including Gary Little’s tour and an impressive line-up at The Therapy Room’s Comedy Weekender. For for more information about our comedy events, click here. 

Felicity Ward Image: Andy Hollingworth