DOD is back in town - David O'Doherty returns for the Birmingham Comedy Festival

Time flies when you’re having fun. It’s a year ago since Who’s Laughing Now first launched, and back then one of our first interviewees was keyboard-wielding Irish comedian David O’Doherty, on the cusp of his first ever full tour, after winning the prestigious award for best show at the Edinburgh festival in 2008.

Since then, even the awards have changed their name, now christened the Eddies. David is returning to Birmingham for another stint at this year’s Comedy Festival – he’s performing at the city’s fantastic Glee Club – and Who’s Laughing Now sat down (via the mighty Internet) with him to find out what’s going on in his world.

WLN: You’re coming back to Birmingham with a new show. What’s it all about?

David O’Doherty: How I wish it was about something. You know, global warming or the recession or Gaza or Bob Dylan. But I realised a long time ago I don’t have the right shaped brain to follow one idea for a whole show. Instead, it’s another ramble around the backwoods of an unreliable human mind. With sweet beats from a 1985 keyboard.

WLN: When I spoke to you ahead of your show last year, you were struggling to describe your style of comedy (a zombie flail after the bottom stair, I think). Have you managed to come up with a better/different description since then?

DO’D: Not really. This year I’ll describe it as like Hall and Oates, if they were one person and did stand-up. (Note: Hall and Oates fans, my songs do not sound anything like Hall and Oates.)

WLN: What effect do you think winning the award at Edinburgh last year has had on you? What kind of new opportunities has it opened up for you?

DO’D: It has been great. It means that people take your ludicrous ideas a lot more seriously. I mean, look at the next question, and imagine asking that to a real person.

WLN: What made you want to write 100 Facts About Pandas? And what do you think it is about certain animals that makes them intrinsically funny?

DO’D: Pandas are good because everyone loves them, but they still remain quite mysterious. Most people don’t really know very much about them. If you said kittens are magnetic, people who own kittens would tell you that they are not. But if you say pandas are, and if you blindfold one, it will be attracted north, then people do the ‘that’s vaguely plausible’ face.

WLN: You did a TV show for RTE called The Modest Adventures of David O’Doherty. Have you got any plans to write more for TV in the future?

DO’D: I’m working on a thing at the moment that I am very excited about, but I can’t really say much about it because there is a man in the corner holding a sock fillled with 50ps, and if I even start to say anything about it he stands up and advances towards me.

WLN: You recorded a low-key live album, Giggle Me Timbers, in your flat. Have you got any more plans to record and release your performances? Obviously each performance is slightly different, built around the relationship between you and your audience, so does that make it more difficult to capture the essence of your show from one performance?

DO’D: I recorded a new album, Let’s Comedy, in August which is coming out soon. For me the main pressure of recording is not to go off on tangents, not to react to the guy in the front row with the ‘I’m not as think as you drunk I am’ tee-shirt. That can be hard. Also they are trickier than you’d imagine to record. You need to have mics on the audience otherwise you sound like a man performing to nobody in his own shower. But if you have too many mics on the audience it sounds like an episode of Scooby Doo.

WLN: What is it about the comedy song that first made you realise that’s what you wanted to do? There are several people like yourself, Demetri Martin, Flight of the Conchords, Tim Minchin and Isy Suttie all making very good and very funny songs at the moment.

DO’D: There’s a Tom Waits live album called Nighthawks at the Diner that I listened to a lot growing up. I saw Randy Newman do an instore gig in a Borders when I was 20 and that was a big thing. I wanted to be a professional jazz musician in my teens, but it turned out I have virtually no talent in that area. Doing comedy songs is about the closest I could get.

WLN: Which song are you proudest of having written?

DO’D: There’s a song in the new show that I really like called Everything’s Not Shit. There’s one from 2006 called Your New Girlfriend is an Arsehole that I like too.

WLN: Which other stand-ups or comedy performers do you like or feel an affinity with in terms of their approach to comedy? And what TV or radio comedy do you most enjoy?

DO’D: I am inspired by lots of comedians. Josie Long and Daniel Kitson for the single minded way they present their world views. Tim Key for doing his own unique thing. Conchords, for working so hard. John Oliver, Andy Zaltzman for coming up with so many incredible jokes. Their weekly podcast The Bugle is astonishing. On TV I like Tim And Eric, any Matt Holness stuff like Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, Peep Show, Blackadder.

WLN: What were your formative comedy influences when you were growing up? What did you find funny when you first started becoming seriously interested in comedy?

DO’D: Aside from musicians like Randy Newman and Tom Waits, my father was a big comedy fan, so we would listen to tapes on car journeys. Monty Python, Lord Buckley, Round The Horne, Peter Tinniswood, then the new generation of stand-ups like Kevin McAleer and Arnold Brown. I found all of these people hilarious and still do. I don’t think my sense of humour has changed since I was about 7 or 8.

WLN: What are your hobbies or other interests outside of comedy?

DO’D: I enjoy pitch and putt, the kind of shortened version of golf for people with shortened attention spans. I have a huge obsession with the age of Antarctic exploration. Shackleton grew up near where I grew up in Dublin. I like to read. I used to work in a bike shop so I spend a lot of my time fixing my friends’ bikes.

WLN: What’s your favourite lie or inaccuracy that’s ever been said/written about you?

DO’D: In the past I’ve told people to make up lies about me and put them on Wikipedia page. It used to say that my father was a matador.

WLN: When you were 5 years old, what would have been your dream job?

DO’D: I wanted to be a pirate.

WLN: If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing?

DO’D: I’d probably be a doctor or a scientist. I’d probably doing something really useful with my life.

WLN: What’s your favourite funny story about yourself?

DO’D: When I was younger I brushed my teeth with haemorrhoid cream.

WLN: Can you tell me one thing about yourself that most people won’t know?

DO’D: I was the 1990 East Leinster under-14s triple jump bronze medallist.

WLN: What do you think has been the high point of your career so far? Is there anything which stands out as being a particularly proud moment?

DO’D: I got asked to do a song at a stranger’s wedding recently. People who had a shared fondness for one of my tunes. I didn’t do it – if it hadn’t gone down well it could have literally cursed their marriage. But still, it was nice to have been asked.

WLN: What’s in store for the future? What are your ambitions?

DO’D: I’d like to earn enough money to move out of this apartment. It is awful. On cold days the water in the kitchen sink freezes over. And i’d like to own a Dyson. And meet Bob Dylan.

David O’Doherty performs his latest show, David O’Doh-Party! at the Glee Club on Friday 9th October. For more information and tickets please visit the Glee Club website.

100 Facts About Pandas is out now.

It's grin up north: Dan Nightingale

We’re proud to announce the first in our regular series of comedy shows at Birmingham’s beautiful Hare and Hounds. An intimate and friendly pub situated in Kings Heath, it’s one of the region’s premier live music and comedy venues.

Building on the success of our inaugural show – a sold-out performance from cult comedy legend Richard Herring – we’re back and refreshed after the Edinburgh Festival to bring you another exciting line-up which is a special preview show for the Birmingham Comedy Festival.

Our headline act for October 1st is Dan Nightingale, one of the leading lights from the excellent stand-up scene in the North West. With his quick-witted mind and high-energy humour, Dan is a gifted performer and compere, and has shared stages with the likes of Josie Long and Ross Noble.

“Fantastic…He has it in him to be another Kitson or Noble.”
Metro

“Exciting and Imaginative”
Edinburgh Evening News

“A 100mph whirlwind….Brilliant”
The Manchester Evening News

“Magnetic, entertaining and wonderfully friendly”
Three Weeks

Support comes from the magnificent Danny Deegan, one of the hottest talents emerging from the North West wowing audiences with superb stories and gags.

“Charming, witty and most importantly funny”
Metro

“Oozes Confidence and Charisma”
Manchester Online

“Can Command any Audience”
Chortle

Your host for the evening is stand-up comic and radio presenter James Cook. Tickets are £5 on the door.

How do you spell ubiquity? M...I...C......

It’s that time of year again – we’re on the cusp of October and that can only mean one thing. It’s time for the Birmingham Comedy Festival! The annual event is back and looking in better shape than ever with a host of big names lined up for a week and a half of merriment where there really is something for everyone.

The face of the festival is undoubtedly love-him-or-hate-him stand-up star Michael McIntyre, fresh from a headline BBC show and hitting Birmingham for dates at the NIA. Elsewhere, other familiar faces from the small screen include Rob Brydon, Rich Hall, Andy Parsons and Frank Carson.

You don’t have to look too far for local connections at this year’s festival, with a special day of events curated by the Tony Hancock Appreciation Society in order to celebrate one of the city’s best-loved sons, while at the other end of the scale there’s a show from Jo Enright who we last saw lighting up our screen’s in Chris Addison’s sitcom Lab Rats.

Other well-known names appearing at this year’s festival include the likes of David O’Doherty, Josie Long, Robin Ince, Stewart Francis, Simon Munnery and Ted Chippington, plus there are plenty of shows at regular comedy venues throughout the city. The Glee Club, the Town Hall, the Electric Cinema, the Old Joint Stock and the Hare and Hounds are just some of the spaces being used for this fantastic celebration of mirth.

There’s even quite a filmic connection to this year’s event, with screenings of a number of films including Monsters Versus Aliens (featuring the voices of such comedy luminaries as Stephen Colbert, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett and Seth Rogen among others); a showing of John Shuttleworth’s latest film, Southern Softies; and two Monty Python films (Life of Brian and Holy Grail, since you ask).

To complete the Python connection, Neil Innes will be appearing at the Station pub in Sutton Coldfield for an evening of music, chat and lots of laughs.

To view the full line-up for Birmingham Comedy Festival please visit the official website for listings and ticket details.

Pushing the boundaries: experimental comedy from Simon Munnery and Ted Chippington

Birmingham promoter The Curate’s Egg present the latest in a string of wonderful shows, bringing stand-up stalwarts Simon Munnery and Ted Chippington to the Hare and Hounds on Friday October 9th, as part of the Birmingham Comedy Festival.

With surreal flights of fancy being his forte, Simon Munnery is known for his characters such as Alan Parker: Urban Warrior and also the League Against Tedium, and his TV show Attention Scum. At home on the stage, Munnery’s Annual General Meeting shows have won him widespread acclaim from critics, with his off-kilter world view marking him out as one of Britain’s most imaginative and consistently funny writers and performers.

One of Munnery’s formative influences was Ted Chippington, who joins him on this bill. A relatively unsung godafther of alternative comedy – or rather, anti-comedy – Chippington excels with his unique deconstruction of the mechanics of stand-up, free of punchlines and regular jokes.

These two experimental performers are joined by the Ted-endorsed Nadeem Rangzeb and the Birmingham Monologues.

Tickets are £5 in advance and available from Swordfish Records and the Polar Bear, or £7 on the door. There is a limited capacity so advance booking is advised.

Also as part of Birmingham Comedy Festival, Curate’s Egg host Bard of Salford John Cooper Clarke on Friday October 2nd, also at the Hare and Hounds. Tickets are £12.50.

Crush with eyeliner - piano-pummelling comedian Tim Minchin

Virtuoso all-rounder Tim Minchin brings his frenzied showmanship to Coventry next weekend for an evening of comedy songs and dark cabaret.

The Australian comedian, actor, composer and pianist performs at Warwick Arts Centre on Sunday September 27th. Minchin, who won the 2005 Perrier Award for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Festival, has established a cult following and regularly appeared on radio.

Who’s Laughing Now dug into the archives to bring you this extract of an interview with Tim from October 2007 ahead of his show at the Birmingham Comedy Festival that year.

WLN: How did you first get started out in comedy?

Tim Minchin: I was living in Melbourne and living the life of an actor who didn’t get much acting work, and a muso who was doing gigs that weren’t particularly pleasing all of the time. I was doing some good jobs as well but like most people in this industry, half of the time you’re doing jobs that you don’t want to be doing. I decided that I wasn’t doing anything that used all my skills – I was playing piano in bands and singing in other bands, and acting when I got acting jobs.

I thought that if I wanted to get any attention from all of the agents and casting people that I was failing to get attention from, maybe I need to whack it all together. I did that at the end of 2003 and it was a lot funnier than I thought it would be. My intent was to make it funny, but I thought it would be more of a weird theatre show or cabaret show with a lot of dark content. I remember getting off stage that first night and thinking, ‘This is pretty good; this is something I could do a lot of.’

Then over the next couple of years I just played these little gigs over and over again, where I’d just get a list of songs that I’d written that were funny, and I’d write a couple of things down that I’d thought about that day. I’d have a glass of wine and take my shoes off, and sit down at the piano in this tiny room without a microphone in it and just play songs; then in between I’d talk about shit. Sometimes it’d be funny and other times it’d just be a little bit weird and embarrassing.

By about 2005 I had tightened that up a little bit so it was more like what I do now. I went to Edinburgh in 2005 and everything really kicked off. It wasn’t really until then, after I’d had all the meetings with agents and stuff, that I thought, ‘Oh fuck, this might mean I’ve made it; I’m in the game now.’ I guess more than anything, what I did was find a new form – it was more about putting what I was doing in the right genre.

I was trying to play in bands and I still write songs that aren’t comic, but the one album I produced… I shopped it around Australia but everyone said, ‘You can obviously write songs but we wouldn’t know how to sell this’, because one song would be totally serious and the next song would be one of those early funny songs that I wrote. They didn’t know what they’d do with me, and so part of the reason I did this show with all the funny songs was to get the funny ones off my chest.

WLN: Having toured around the world, how do you think British audiences compare with other countries? Who do you think are most receptive to your brand of comedy?

TM: I think I’m quite lucky in that, not with any intent, I’ve developed material that’s not too parochial. When I was in Australia there was enough people doing, ‘Isn’t it funny being an Aussie?’ stuff and Aussie bloke material, and even Australian political material, but that never piqued my interested. I was more interested in writing songs about sex, death and God, and trying to be amusingly ostentatious about those subjects.

So I found when I came over here that I did very little; I forget that I’m Australian and when I do my shows I don’t think, ‘They’re hearing this Australian accent.’ I’m just talking in my voice and singing in my voice. I think the British audiences are more aware of my Australian-ness than I am. Sometimes a reviewer will say that I’m obviously proudly Australian, but I barely mention it. Just the fact that I’m getting on stage and being me makes people in England identify me as Australian. I don’t think about it that much.

If anything, there’s not much naivety with the Brits – they’re very much like Australians. They like the dark stuff, apart from the odd letter I get saying, ‘You shouldn’t swear or be mean about God’, or whatever people decide to get on their high horses about when they’re not really listening. Mostly, they’re pretty well-worn, British audiences; they’ve seen it all.

WLN: Were there any performers in particular who informed your early forays into comedy, or who made you think that you wanted to do this as a career?

TM: I sort of felt like you have to be fucking mad to be a comedian; I think most people who aren’t comedians think that. I remember thinking, ‘I wouldn’t mind doing five minutes of stand-up one day’ and then I thought, ‘Don’t be an idiot, Tim.’ Then I ended up doing it round the back door. I ended up doing stand-up as part of my show, but I never did five minutes – I did a 90-minute show!

I didn’t think of it like that, I just thought of it as a theatre show. I don’t think I ever thought, ‘Oh, I want to be like that!’ I’d never seen a live stand-up show before I did my first show. My influences are more from my theatre background, so fantastic dialogue and writers, like Vonnegut and Stoppard. It all sounds very wanky. And also bands – I’ve always been a 60s and 70s head so people like Queen, the Kinks and the Beatles, who use lyrics ironically, always attracted me now I look back on it. I was very attracted to lyrics that were a bit tongue in cheek.

We all consume comedy, don’t we, but I’ve never been a comedy fan, so I guess if looking for influences I have to say it’s more learning subconsciously that words in songs can be used as sharp tools, rather than just to pad out the music. So when I started writing songs, I was always inclined, even when I didn’t want to be…I’d sit down to write a serious song about my broken heart – which was a serious broken heart, like every teenager has, or every early 20s person has – it’s not that I didn’t experience it personally but that when I went to write about it I couldn’t help but go, ‘Yeah, get your hand off it, we’ve all been through this. What else can you say about it?’ Half the time I’d try to write seriously and end up writing self-deprecatingly.

WLN: Are there any other writers or performers who you feel an affinity with in terms of their voice or outlook? What other performers or shows do you like?

TM: I’ve met all these comedians as people before I knew them as artists. Eventually I’d go to watch them and I’d go with prejudice because I’ve already decided that I like them anyway. I find Stewart Lee impeccable; I just think he’s extraordinary. I wish I could do what he does, but then again it’s a very particular thing. I think Stewart thinks I’m a bit fawning actually because I really am a fan.

I’ve had a lot to do with Mark Watson. In Edinburgh in 2005 I won this award [Perrier Award for Best Newcomer] for which a whole lot of other English and Welsh comedians were nominated for, and I’ve become quite good friends with all of those guys. Mark Watson, who I’ve done a lot of work with, is a brilliant person and his comedy is very different from mine, but he’s brilliant. We spent a lot of time together because we toured to the same places at the same time, and he writes books – I admire how prolific he is and I really like his comedy as well.

Rhod Gilbert was around that year in Edinburgh as well, and I find him brilliant to watch. He’s much more curmudgeonly. I must admit I’m a bit soft, I guess; I’m not very opinionated about comedy. I just go, ’Fuck, you’re all amazing – good on you. How do you do it without a piano to go back to?’ It’s come as a surprise to me how nice comedians are, mostly, especially coming into the industry the way I did. I felt quite a lot of pressure, like I was crashing a party in 2005 and felt like other people didn’t think I deserved the attention I was getting, and that I was just a show piano guy muscling in on a well-established turf.

That was mostly in my head, although I’ve got some evidence to suggest it was true, but basically everyone’s pretty supportive, and more than anything comedians are generally nice people. They’ve generally got very low self-esteem and just want to please people, so they’re a really interesting bunch to get to know. There’s a lot of judgement I think; everyone’s looking sideways a bit, and you can’t help it. You can be really nice and still be paranoid. I’ve never been on the circuit, because of this piano – I haven’t done clubs really, but the few shared bills I have gone on I’ve really enjoyed, and I really like getting to know the guys.

WLN: With people like yourself and Flight of the Conchords among others, are we seeing a renaissance of musical comedy?

TM: I don’t have a lot of knowledge of what the scene was beforehand; certainly in Australia in the last few years I think there’s been a renaissance. Maybe just a little rash of it – people deciding there’s room for more. Maybe out of the back of the alternative 90s man with a microphone – the lower key the better – perhaps we’re seeing a return to being allowed to do it.

My show’s very theatrical and I think that maybe it’s okay now to have some lights, or do a dance, or sing a song, or to be a bit less self-conscious, and say, ‘Here’s a bit of razzle dazzle’. I don’t want to sound derisive of it; that’s a whole genre of comedy. People are wearing a few more suits and I’m allowed to wear eye-liner. Maybe any musical acceptance is connected to an acceptance that shows can be shows. I’ve tried to let my show be a theatre show because I’m not an experienced stand-up.

Like a puppet on a string

Award-winning adult puppet show Sammy J in the Forest of Dreams stops off in Lichfield as part of its run. The critically-acclaimed show is described as “a musical for adults, with puppets”, and it’s these crude and colourful characters which are the vehicle for some decidedly acerbic humour.

Like the Muppets beamed into an altogether ruder and more depraved universe, there are a raft of songs to shock and amuse, including such delights as ‘Fuck You, Disney’ and the charmingly titled ‘I’m Learning How to Be Less of a Dick’.

Catch a glimpse of what’s in store here. Sammy J in the Forest of Dreams is at the Lichfield Garrick on Sunday September 27th.

This is his strongest show yet and should see him continue to grow into a well-known international act, which is certainly what he deserves. Like a few of the better acts, Carey may not see Edinburgh as the be all and end all, but as an opportunity to continually develop a show in the ideal situation of daily performances to comedy-literate crowds and the opportunity for feedback from valued colleagues.

Showing his playful side

Glenn Wool and I also go back a while and it’s great to see him pulling big crowds and putting in a performance combining barnstorming delivery with strong material whilst never letting his playful side far from the surface.

He covers areas – particular in religion – that plenty of other comics are now covering and are part of the general comic landscape, but he has developed the perspective and presents a grounded view whilst anchoring it all in gentle self-mockery.

Laughs on a budget

Finally, a great new late Fringe show as part of the Five Pound Fringe initiative – Fucking Funny for a Fiver.  in a great little downstairs room at the Tron – a pub with a strong comedy history, the delightfully warm and heartfelt compering of Matt Price set up a wonderful atmosphere.

Steve Shanyaski opened with a very strong performance, followed by guest act “tape face” – an act developed in the street performance world involving a guy manipulating audience members and himself into a series of funny scenarios, all with a piece of gaffer tape across his mouth. Very well done.

Too many Cooks…

In the second half, Kent Valentine offered a pacy run through the napalm story from his fine show of last year before Jason Cook – chugging a beer after a long day performing both his current show and an emotional return to his Confessions show (for charity) – turned in a lively and enjoyable closing set.

A great opportunity to catch some work from some guys who, if I had more time, I’d love to catch full shows from. But that’s the delightful nature of the Fringe – there’s always more good stuff than you can possibly see.

Xx

By Rich Batsford

Mick Sergeant is a very strong character created by stand up Lee Fenwick – from up close in a small room at The Stand he gives off a ton of energy. The character is an out of work, militant ship worker, frustrated by his dole queue life style but unwilling to compromise his position by taking any of the steps needed to improve his life.

Intensely entertaining

Violence never seems far from the surface of this intense performance although it’s also full of an upbeat desite to motivate and entertain. The pathos is allowed to come across naturally and one or two references to the reality of the performance situation still don’t quite let the character slip (his ultimate dream is his own TV show).

Part of the Edinburgh experience is catching some of the newer artists as they’re coming through and it was with this in mind that I paid my first visit to the AAA stand up show. Even with the weather being decidedly uninspiring, Edinburgh is famous for packing punters into very hot little rooms and this was a classic example in a little uderground space – jacket weather outside, sweltering by five minutes into the show.

Flagging in the heat?

The three young acts all made a reasonable fist of keeping the heat-sagged audience entertained, the promise and the performance skills outweighed the top-notch material, Bryan Lacey as MC, Chris Martin and Paul F Taylor will most likely be around for some time more to come.

Nick Doody had an interesting premise, noting that presenting a balanced, two-sided arguent doesn’t tend to make for good comedy. He split the show into two, first presenting an anti-everything rant and then reprising the same topics from a positive point of view.  Freed from contstraints of reasonableness, the first half was an excitingly passionate rant and in the second there were some inspiring and heart-warming moments.

The death of Nick’s mother prior to his preview run shot through the show and performance with some intense emotions and I was pleased to have felt some intense experience and enjoyed a well constructed show.

More than just entertainment

Finally I caught the brilliant Daniel Kitson at the lovely Stand (probably my favourite comedy club in the country). Daniel is one of the best acts I’ve yet seen live – and possibly my favourite. The whole hour and forty minutes was packed with great writing, insight and emotion showing that stand-up at its best is more than just amazing entertainment, but can be enlightening, moving and nourishing to the soul.
Xx

By Rich Batsford

I walked over to Espionage, to catch Dan Willis – a genial and hardworking club and festival act who I always enjoy. He keeps up a strong and steady stream of friendly material and banter to put any audience at their ease including this reasonably well-sized Monday night crowd.

Search for the geek inside yourself

Prior to taking up stand up, Willis was a computer programmer and it’s to his geeky history he turns for the substance of this show, taking the audience on a programme from their first computer ownership (mine was a 48k Spectrum) through a life of geekdom and all the joys and perils that entails. A warm and entertaining start.

Next up, John Gordillo’s interesting show Fuckonomics – the premise being that our lives are governed by forces that characterise our sexual relationships, acting like market economics. With that premise put forward, John went into a detailed description of his proto father-like relationship with his partner’s teen which seemed somewhat off the course of the show, though did come around later on.

A powerhouse in the making

I really enjoy watching John perform for his insight, his mannerisms and gusto; his passion and erudition. I hope to see him one day shaking himself free of whatever insecurities remain from his diffident, English middle class upbringing and developing fully into the powerhouse he is clearly capable of being.

Finally, to the first name on my festival team sheet, Reginald D Hunter. Although Reg has been pulling big crowds at the Festival for some years now,  his many recent TV appearances have meant that in addition to the audience he has built on the back of his many high quality festival and club shows, big numbers of people are now coming who know him only from TV.

For this reason Reg’s current show features some of his classic material, offering a way in for a whole new audience to get a handle on the significant difference between the small window he is able to display on a TV panel show and the deep and hard-hitting nature of his live material – his true element.  Something of an adjustment period for a comic that has grown in stature and who’s presence will continue to spread.
Xx

By Rich Batsford

Stay tuned for more of Rich’s posts from Edinburgh, and read his blog here.

Frank judging

Last Saturday 30 comedians came together and did a solid five minutes each as part of the Jongluer’s Comedy Call back competition – the finalists come back this Saturday to be judged by Jongleurs’ founder, Maria Kempinska and local legend, Frank Skinner.

The winner not only wins a year contract with Jongleurs but a professional showreel made by the folks at Aquila productions. I was part of the team broadcasting the competition on Rhubarb Radio and will be there next week to record the final.

Stand up comedy is more like alchemy than actual magic – there is a potent mixture of ingredients and circumstances that have to be judged and portioned just right for the magic to happen.  So performing at two in the afternoon for an audience of other comedians who have a vested interest in not laughing at you is a tough gig.  Even tougher when your delivery is unrefined, your material uninspiring and you’re so nervous you can be seen trembling from across the room.

But the truth is, if you put 30 stand-up acts in a room, 20 or so are going to be terrible – stand-up comedy is hard and experience has to be earned. The day was long but not without its relief and out of 30, six were picked.  For the sake of brevity here are my favourite three of these finalists.

Simon Jones – a lovely welsh boy, how could you not be endeared by anyone that starts their set with a joke about being fingered by a priest?  Charming accent aside he didn’t start with bundles of confidence but gathered momentum as he went on.  Having a large audience and more time will definitely be a kill or cure.

Okse – To talk about race is brave even if you’re a member of that race yourself, its even braver to do material about race isn’t right, the atmosphere of the comedy club has the tacit understanding of a safe space for the dark, angry thoughts we have and allows these monsters to be aired and slain with laughter. Okse not only had funny material, but managed to talk about race in a warm funny way that disarmed an already tense room and looked natural and professional on stage.

(MY PICK) Simon Fielder – Some people had good material but no delivery, some had great timing but no real material, some even had both or none, but no personality. Simon had it all, off-beat, very funny material that without his delivery or charm would not have worked for anyone else. Simon stood out as the most ‘finished’ of all the acts that afternoon.

Tickets for this Saturday’s final are available from the Jongleurs website and last Saturdays show is available here from Rhubarb Radio.