Footlights in 'Good For You'

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The members of Cambridge Footlights have a habit of going on to achieve great things in Edinburgh and beyond. They won the first Perrier Comedy Award in 1981 with the dream team of Emma Thompson, Tony Slattery, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. Less well-known is that just last year both major comedy prize winners—Tim Key and Jonny Sweet—were also alumni. So, are any of this year's bright young things destined for superstardom? Maybe.

Good For You, a title which has seemingly been picked at random, is a sketch show of varying quality. All the performers are clearly talented and confident individuals, but the writing is often flat, with sketches petering out rather than rising to a satisfying denouement.

The undoubted star is Alex Owen, who is reminiscent of a young Robert Webb (another Footlight) in both appearance and comic style. His "business innovator" Chad Slazenger is a brilliant creation and the only character on show that warrants a return visit. Throughout the show Owen manages to rise above the comedy-by-numbers in a way that marks him out as one to watch in the future.

Few of the other individual sketches stick in the mind for long. It is not that they are bad exactly, just uninspired – as if the five writers have programmed a Footlights computer to churn out skits using slightly incorrect data from past years. They'll need better software if they are to catch the eye of the television executives.