Chopping wins comedy competition

Chris Chopping was crowned the winner of the You Must Be Joking 2011 competition in Newbury on Tuesday

CONFIDENCE is always a key part of a stand-up comedian's set.

And the eight finalists of this year's You Must Be Joking competition had that in abundance on Tuesday night, with each one of them making their presence known on stage and rousing the Corn Exchange crowd into a variety of guffaws, cringes and smiles in equal doses.

Sex jokes and light-hearted references to social networking sites featured heavily in the sets, which was perhaps not surprising given the average age of the finalists, although some of the best reactions were generated by original material, such as Chris Norton Walker's opening, where he likened his own appearance to the first three guesses in a Guess Who game.

Another comedian who entertained the crowd with his own unique take on an exchange on a London bus was Darius Davies, who acted out the roles of ‘suit and tie' and two young friends with suitable aplomb as he manoeuvred around the stage.

Meanwhile, the only female finalist, Cara Cummings, made reference to her own dress sense, childhood and sexuality to generate laughs, as well as making topical jokes about the phone hacking scandal and the royal family.

The other finalists included Welshman Geraint Dafydd Evans, Simon Caine, Barnaby Slater and Patrick Morris, all of whom entertained the crowd with their mixture of anecdotes, jokes and dry humour, much of which revolved around sex, banter and the internet.

The compere for the evening, last year's competition winner 20-year-old Matt Richardson, also exuded confidence as he told tales of his family members and frequently referred to Newbury as a middle class town, singling out members of the audience to back up his comments.

However, the winner of the competition, Chris Chopping, was unique in his own style, with the ability to draw upon his own experiences and produce a funny, engaging and all-round entertaining set.

The young comic, who lives in Cardiff, scooped the cash prize with his set, which made reference to gay people, a lifeguard's unfortunate discovery and his own experience at Specsavers - all of which was delivered whilst Chopping sipped his wine, which the crowd was reliably informed was very nice.

And to be honest, if any of the previous winners of this competition are anything to go by, including Imran Yusef and Ian Smith, then this young stand-up could be one to watch as his comedy career takes shape.