#hullcomedyfest

The Hull Comedy Festival has brought acts from all over the world to perform in Hull, however to me the exciting element of the festival is the shows that are special, or one offs. On Sunday (10th November) Colin Manford chose to debut his brand new stand up show ‘Are you Niall’s Brother?’ in Hull as part of the ‘Funny and Free Fringe’.

Tired of being asked about his famous sibling, the last straw was this summer when hosting a school sports day when a pupil asked him “Are you Niall’s brother?” (Colin’s ten year old brother Niall attended the school). Then and there he decided he needed to step out of the shadows of his brothers and let the people know just who Colin Manford is and how he has become the person he is today.

Stepping onto the stage he straight away proves to the audience that he has the credentials to be there. The show features family, relationships, likes and dislikes but it’s his storytelling technique that shines most bright.

One of his opening stories about a text exchange between his mum and dad, most people would never want to utter in front of anyone, especially not a room full of strangers, but he does so in a way that it not only makes it funny but makes it something we can strangely all relate to, in this case the topic of cringe worthy family moments. His set is littered with similar types of stories, some ended with him saying “There’s no punch line, that’s just a true story.”, but his delivery is filled with such warmth and heart that you can’t help but laugh as you picture them playing out in your head.

Changing pace half way through, the topic of religion and his dislike of it came up. However in his loveable style this wasn’t a religion bashing hate talk but instead a first hand account of the silly situations religion had got him in. Although different to the material he had been talking about previously it was a clever section that never tried to offend, which concluded in a religious quiz. With Colin as the quizmaster and the audience as a collective contestant, it showed up just how ridiculous some of the stories in the bible really are. Making us question if we saw a burning bush would we not just ring the fire brigade instead of talking to it?

It is clear that family is a big part of what made Colin what he is today as for all the talk about danger wanks and ex girlfriends he always comes back to stories of his mum, dad and brothers, showing us that without his famous brother, dirty parents or talentless cousin he wouldn’t be the man he is today.

Colin ended the night by talking to every audience member individually as we had got to know him he wanted to get to know us. The amount of information the audience gave him just showed how they had warmed to his likeable personality and it was a great end to the show.

The ‘Funny and Free Fringe’ has been a great success at this years festival and it is shows like this that really prove it. Stepping out of the shadows of his siblings and into the limelight Colin Manford is a talent to watch out for in the future.