Funny punts

Comedy gold, but can it compete withthe cute ducks – and even cuter punter?

YOU couldn’t geta much more“Cambridge”

evening to be honest.Run by Hannah

Dunleavy, comic andformer Cambridge Newscolumnist, the premiseof Funny Punts is this:you jump aboard for aguided river tour whileHannah melds facts andfigures with a smatteringof witty asides and off-the-cuff observations.

Your host is bawdyand fully preparedto spew a wedge ofCambridge relatedknowledge from herbrain – and the settingis obviously prettymagical, especially atdusk.

Once lazily scootingdown the river from theGranta, we learnt aboutridiculous kings andqueens, the great, thefamous and the utterlymental that have studiedat Cambridge University(Isaac Newton’s lackof sexual prowessand Prince Charleshaving actually beento university both get aribbing), and politicoswill definitely enjoynods to Cambridge’sbubble beliefs.

Although some of thepop culture referencesdid slightly whoosh overmy head (luckily you’re

free to ask questionsand chip in), you getthe feeling each tour istailored to the audience.And, while it isn’talways highly glossedand polished, thankfullythe routines don’t feelrigidly rehearsed –which is good because,on the water, anythingcan happen...

Hannah is the firstto admit she’s upagainst some toughcompetition when itcomes to river baseddistractions. She’s usedto powering throughwhen a cute flock ofducklings paddles overmid joke, (“awws” fromthe audience ruiningthe punch line), andhappily digresses whenfellow boaters providetoo exceptional a lurefor further comedy/sniggers.

In our case it wasa troupe of foreignstudents doing widthsinstead of lengths,and a velvet clad guy

splayed out with his feetup, attempting to lookall-too nonchalant andByron-esque while hispoor girlfriend did thehard graft – spectacular.

Then there’s thedistraction of thelad doing the actualpunting (no, Hannahdoesn’t punt and jokesimultaneously, thatwould most likelyend in a splash). Wewere lucky enough tohave bagged an EddieRedmayne look-a-like(swoon) who, whenHannah declined (“Iwas just about to do ajoke about Sylvia Plathkilling herself!”), obligedus by bridge jumping– this should definitelybecome a staple part ofthe gig. Seriously.

Pithy, clever andlight, Cambridge willdefinitely look differentwhen you hop back outof the boat. And, just soyou know, health andsafety-wise, no-one’stoppled in yet…

FUNNY: HannahDunleavy

Review: ELLA WALKER lies back and enjoys a comictwist on a Cambridge classic courtesy of formerNews columnist Hannah Dunleavy’s Funny Punts

n Tours leave Granta Punts on Newnham Road at6.30pm and 7.45pm every Tuesday, Wednesdayand Thursday. Tickets cost £15 per person and areavailable on the night or can be booked in advance atwww.wegottickets.com/cambridgecomedytours.For more details contact cambridgecomedytours@gmail.com.n You can also follow @funnypunts on Twitter orvisit www.facebook.com/funnypunts

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