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01 June 1999
Last night, the Fez was packed to bursting as it presented an evening of comedy for the Bath Fringe Festival. Headliner Ed Byrne was ably supported by Nic Ford, newcomer Russell Howard and compere Robin Ince.
Ince is a frequent visitor to these parts, and he proved to be a most effective host for the evening, keeping things moving nicely while judging a comedy contest where the audience had to state the difference between Sophie Rhys-Jones and a chainsaw.
Nic Ford had the audience on his side from the start. He made great play of dissecting a copy of the magazine Men’s Health, pouring scorn on the sickeningly muscular model on the cover. ‘That’s not a natural look for a man,’ he cried. ‘This…’ indicating his budding beer gut, ‘is what a man’s supposed to look like.;
Ed Byrne gave a virtuoso performance, aiming his razor wit at women’s fashion, New Zealand and both male and female sides of the great divide. His home ground of Ireland did not escape his tongue, Irish dancing coming in for a swift mugging. ‘I don’t know what you’re laughing about,’ he told the roaring crowd. ‘Morris dancing isn’t much better.’
Matthew Zuckerman