June 12, 2011
Wisecracks and Wordplay was a literary themed pub-quiz-game-show hybrid, hosted by a local independent publisher, as part of the OxFringe Festival.
Unfortunately, fate seemed to have conspired against Acorn Press, and the hosts had to contend not only with the miserable weather, but the fact that the start time was listed wrongly on various ticket-selling websites.
Only a handful of people had braved the rain, and the young comperes greeted their subdued and soggy audience with impressive enthusiasm.
The quiz kicked off with a rather stale game of Countdown, after which teams fumbled their way through a drawn-up round of Scrabble. When some late-comers arrived after the second round and one of the hosts quipped ‘don’t worry, you haven’t missed much,’ the remark was painfully apt.
However, as is often the case with pub quizzes, as the booze flowed and people relaxed, the evening improved, and by the time we reached the third round – Jack-a-Story – in which contestants had to re-write the Goldilocks fable, I realised I was having fun.
When the hosts retired to count up the scores, the audience was entertained by comedian Iszi Lawrence’s quirky, sceptical stand-up. Iszy’s material was a bit shocking when after a quiz about Shakespeare and Auden – she mused on blowjobs and sexual fantasies- but the laughs were welcome.
Acorn Press put a lot of effort into this quiz, and in the end it was a pleasant evening, it’s just a shame that wet weather and clumsly listings had kept punters at bay.
Unfortunately, fate seemed to have conspired against Acorn Press, and the hosts had to contend not only with the miserable weather, but the fact that the start time was listed wrongly on various ticket-selling websites.
Only a handful of people had braved the rain, and the young comperes greeted their subdued and soggy audience with impressive enthusiasm.
The quiz kicked off with a rather stale game of Countdown, after which teams fumbled their way through a drawn-up round of Scrabble. When some late-comers arrived after the second round and one of the hosts quipped ‘don’t worry, you haven’t missed much,’ the remark was painfully apt.
However, as is often the case with pub quizzes, as the booze flowed and people relaxed, the evening improved, and by the time we reached the third round – Jack-a-Story – in which contestants had to re-write the Goldilocks fable, I realised I was having fun.
When the hosts retired to count up the scores, the audience was entertained by comedian Iszi Lawrence’s quirky, sceptical stand-up. Iszy’s material was a bit shocking when after a quiz about Shakespeare and Auden – she mused on blowjobs and sexual fantasies- but the laughs were welcome.
Acorn Press put a lot of effort into this quiz, and in the end it was a pleasant evening, it’s just a shame that wet weather and clumsly listings had kept punters at bay.