Expect laughter, tears, blood and bananas at The Oxford Revue on Monday, as Oxford Playhouse hosts the best of Oxford University comedy.

Bursting with originality and wit, The Oxford Revue has been doing the comedy circuit for almost 50 years, with alumni ranging from Michael Palin to Rowan Atkinson, Richard Curtis and Alan Bennett, delighting audiences with its unique brand of surreal, subversive sketch comedy.

Today’s rising young comedy stars in The Oxford Revue are undoubtedly also destined for great things. We meet the seven aspiring comedians and put them under the spotlight to see if they are up to the job.

The performers are, from top left: Sophia Satchell-Baeza, 19, Oriel College; Adam Reeve, 19, Hertford College; Natalie Dibsdale, 20, St Hilda’s College; Adam St Leger-Honeybone, 19, Jesus College; Jack Bernhardt, 20, University College; Lawrence Cochran, 20, Lincoln College; Ollie Mann, 19, Oriel College.

Q. Where does this compulsion to stand up on stage and tell jokes come from?

A. Perhaps subconsciously the urge to stand up on stage and tell jokes has a lot to do with craving attention but personally I find it’s a very good way of letting off steam. (Adam R). Q. How hard is it to get up on stage and make people laugh?

A. It can be nerve-racking but we all really enjoy the challenge. Performing can be intimidating but it’s always exciting and very rewarding. (Adam St Leger H). Q. Best and worse case scenarios so far?

A. Best case scenario: The cheer when we went on stage in the Playhouse last year; getting to go to balls for free; making friends with the lovely Durham Revue and the Footlights.

Q. Worst case scenario: the first night of last summer’s Edinburgh show, pulling in the impressive crowd of four (in a 120-seat capacity space). To be fair, they seemed to enjoy it, but they were under A LOT of pressure to laugh... (Natalie). Q. Best heckle?

“Speak slower!”...and I did. Everyone was happy. Heckling works, do it. (Lawrence). Q. Where will you go with this – are you considering a future as a stand-up?

A. Seeing as I’m currently clueless as to what I want to do when I ‘grow-up’ I think comedy has provided me with an interesting avenue to explore. (Ollie). Q. Do you feel the pressure of your Oxford Revue predecessors breathing down your neck (Rowan Atkinson etc)?

A. Of course! When you think of such luminaries as Rowan Atkinson, Michael Palin, Angus Deaton, Ken Loach and Armando Iannucci, it’s kind of hard not to.

Though they don’t breathe don't my neck, I like to think of them as lightly pressing against my subconscious, reminding me constantly of how unfunny I am, and how this is all a fluke, and I should really just stick to writing essays. (Sophia). Q. Describe your routine?

A. In general someone will come up with a sketch idea, write it down, we’ll then all talk about whether we like it and go from there. We tend to have quite a small amount of time between when a sketch is written and when it's performed so we don’t get to over-rehearse the material, which tends to mean the sketches have a lot of energy which is always a good thing. (Adam R). Q. Describe your humour and the topics that interest you, which you discuss on stage?

A. We all have our own different styles in the Revue, so we end up with quite different and diverse sketches at the end of it: everyone always says that my sketches revolve around food, and actually pretty much every sketch I’ve ever written has something to do with chocolate or sugar, just as an underlying theme throughout. We tend not to do too much topical political satire, just because it’s quite difficult for it to stay relevant, and for the most part our sketches just come from ridiculous situations and silly turns of phrase. (Jack). Q. Who are your favourite influences?

A. It has to be Kath and Kim, I’m obsessed, I talk in Australian even when I’m in Cafe Nero ordering a ‘cinno’. I love Absolutely Fabulous - it is the absolute best, mainly because I want to model my life on Patsy Stone’s. I will BE her one day, complete with lit fags and champagne bottle, perfectly preserved, until I die, aged 200, standing up. In terms of stand-ups, I think Josie Long is wicked. I love her general kookiness. (Sophia). Q. Favourite joke, routine or sketch?

A. Too hard to pick just one...I'm a big fan of Big Train and the stuff that they do. Anything with Mark Heap and Simon Pegg pretending to be monks has me in stitches, although to be loyal to the Revue I'll say any one of Rowan Atkinson’s lines in Blackadder II, III and IV...(Jack).

* On Monday, The Oxford Revue will be joined by two other esteemed comedy troupes for a special one-off performance on Monday, which will showcase the brightest and best in student comedy. The Cambridge Footlights and the award-winning Durham Revue return with sketch highlights from the last year, as well as brand new material. Expect zany sketches, quick-fire wit, musical interludes, and uncontrollable hysteria. Box office on 01865 305305.