THE latest instalment of comedy in Taunton was a barrel of laughs as five comedians left an intimate crowd in stitches at Brazz last night.

MC Geoff Whiting kick-started the giggles, leaving no hiding places for the crowd as he poked fun at people’s age, relationships, jobs and looks.

His witty act teed up Iszi Lawrence perfectly, who struck a balance between how far she could push the audience with sexual references and jibes at Bridgwater.

Somerset County Gazette:

Iszi Lawrence

Her wacky style on stage was well received by a crowd just shy of 100 and her 20-minute act was a joy to watch.

As the saying goes, good things come in small packages, and the surprise of the night for me was Bruce Cochrane.

At first, I thought the ‘compact’ bald figure on stage looked over-awed but he soon changed that opinion.

His comedy delves into a light-hearted view on being blown up on military service and short man’s syndrome.

Somerset County Gazette:

Bruce Cochrane

Next up was comedian-come-magician Tim ‘TJ’ Shoesmith who tested out the crowd with some Derren Brown-style magic as he guessed numbers and animals that people were thinking of.

His set was only short but it provided a nice change to the conventional stand-up comic act and his sharp performance dished up something a bit different for the audience to get their teeth into.

Finally, the headliner Howard Read ended the show with a side-splitting set as he mixed observational comedy with stories about his family.

Somerset County Gazette:

Tim 'TJ' Shoesmith

Howard, who has performed on the Royal Variety Show, also broke his act up well with a funny lullaby about monsters under the bed which his father used to read to him before he went to sleep.

He topped off another excellent night of comedy, once again supported well by a bubbly Taunton crowd who were kept on their toes in between the acts thanks to the ever-impressive Geoff Whiting.

Somerset County Gazette:

Geoff Whiting

All photos: Clayton Jane Photography.