Simon Amstell

Simon Amstell and I have the same love life. During the course of his show I came to realize that he and I not only have the same taste in men, but the same pathetic way of not getting them. His comedy is personal, heartfelt and sincere, far removed from the acerbic barbs  which viewers of Never Mind the Buzzcocks know and love him for.

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Jack Whitehall

 

Nominated for Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, Jack Whitehall’s Nearly Rebellious debut solo show received rave reviews and completely sold out in August. Now visiting Brighton as part of the Magners Comedy Festival, Whitehall’s show didn’t have a single empty seat left in the Pavilion Theatre.

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McGoughière

Liverpool poet Roger McGough has written plays before, but “never,” he modestly admits, with “as much success” as his adaptations of Molière. “It’s the combination you need, Molière and me” he jovially explains. After going to see his rave-reviewed latest adaption, The Hypochondriac, at the Theatre Royal, Performance Editor Olivia Wilson spoke to him about becoming ‘McGoughière’.

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Best of the Fest

Best of the Fest’ showcases five comedians performing at the Brighton Comedy Festival, and although the night is value for money, and has some solid comedians and funny moments, you’re not really left in hysterical raptures.

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John Hegley

The rigid mouth of the bouncer twitched a little. A snot-nosed ten-year-old messed up on cranberry juice jetted about, grinning madly to herself. The kindly ushers looked at us like we were clever as dolphins for having come to this show. The point is, everyone was terribly excited to see performance poet John Hegley back in Brighton offering his unique brand of “awesomely mundane” verses, where potatoes and spectacles become the focal point for the best poet Luton has ever produced.

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Jon Richardson

As the lights go down at 21:30, a chirpy Lancastrian voice filters out on the tannoy, introducing tonight’s act. Being, judging by the applause, one of the only people in the Brighton Dome who does not know of Jon Richardson yet, I assume that this is simply the announcer. When he stutters and then admits, “God, I’m bad at this”, I’m taken slightly aback at the brutal honesty of this lad. Only when he modestly proclaims, “And now introducing…me” and appears to a chorus of cheers and whoops, do I realise my mistake (I’m not the quickest, you may have noticed).

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School for Gifted Children

Fans of Ricky Gervais will no doubt have heard of Robin Ince. Despite being one of Gervais’ best mates though and supporting him on all his tours to date, Robin Ince is a very different breed of comedian. Ince swaps Gervais’ edgy, sometimes offensive style of comedy for a far more satirical act, paying close attention to ‘having a go at the Daily Mail’, which is something I very much enjoy.

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Last Night (good) Things Happened

Last week, the SUDS Edinburgh festival entry piece was reprised to great aplomb.

Opening to the macabre sounds of four butchers sharpening their knives over the frigid body of a mostly naked young man, who awakes to baffled apologies from his would-be slaughterers, Last Night Things Happened follows the protagonist through a series of misadventures as he finds his way home.

His situation grows increasingly bizarre as he encounters which include an incredibly fat man composed of several cast members under a very large set of clothes, and the very literal Character Assassin.

The play consistently delivers memorable and entertaining scenes which enthrall through their self-perpetuating exploration of the strange. Each scene is both a cogent metaphor, and an addition to the overall narrative,  forming a coherent sequence that  pushes towards a final unified climax.

Another successful element of the play lies in its humour, which relies on genuine wit rather than  simply the discomfort evoked by  the uncanny. Laughter stormed the debating chamber as the patently doomed Average Angels expounded their philosophy of Versatility through Mediocrity, before marching off to face  the advancing Chinese army.

The cast did an admirable job, with many playing several characters in rapid succession. Of note was Lily Pollard’s role in a marriage that’s destined to last, man and wife having been fused together by lightning.

While  at times the play felt driven by a frantic tendency towards exposition, and  could be accused  of repetitiveness, SUDS proved that they deserved their excellent reception at Edinburgh, and that the play is deserving of future performances.

Terry Alderton

After the mediocre warm-up act, (jokes about how men and woman’s brains are wired differently?  Couldn’t think of some fresh material?) I was eager for Terry Alderton to come onstage.  And he didn’t disappoint.   As I write this it’s difficult to convey the brilliance, the strangeness and the sheer comic verve of Alderton’s performance. A constant stream of impressions, accents, odd noises and strange dances interspersed and enlivened more conventional comic devices such as talking to members of the audience.  A man possessed by comic virtuosity, Alderton was practically fizzing and spitting with jokes, gags and musical skits as he swooped dizzyingly from one subject to another.

Perhaps my favourite aspect of the performance, and what I think really raised the calibre of Alderton’s comedy was the employment of a bizarre but effective comic device in which Alderton would periodically turn his back to the audience and carry on a conversation with himself, using a  slightly sinister raspy voice for one side of the conversation and a higher voice for the other.  As alarming as that sounds it was actually very funny; the voices would comment  if the audience didn’t laugh at a joke (thus rescuing potentially awkward moments of uneasy silence) and  also discuss members of the audience,  adding an intriguing dimension to what can frequently be a tired part of the comedian’s routine; audience interaction. Most importantly, it allowed Alderton to adeptly control the audience’s reactions, something at which he showed considerable expertise.

What makes Alderton so brilliant at what he does is his fluidity as a comedian, the versatility of his comic range.  A literal embodiment of this on the night was the way in which he switched rapidly between accents, speaking at one moment in a camp upper class accent and the next in  estuary English.  It is difficult to pin down or categorize Alderton as a comedian, and perhaps because of that his possibility and potential becomes endless.

Comedy goes coastal

Now in the eighth year, the Magners Brighton Comedy Festival is set to be the biggest and funniest festival yet. Britain’s premier event solely devoted to comedy, is this October offering a fantastic line-up including thought-provoking comic Simon Amstell, Pub landlord Al Murray and making a welcome return to host the Sussex Beacon Charity Gala, is star of channel 4’s Chatty Man, Alan Carr.

Held between 8-24 October 2009, Brighton will transform into a city of comedy, offering a line up of the UK’s funniest talent. Comedians appearing during the festival include the controversial stand up Reg D Hunter, lyrical comic genius Tim Minchin, and returning after a hugely successful appearance at last years festival, Jimmy Carr.

Twisted pop duo, Frisky and Mannish will be debuting their show at this year’s festival after receiving rave reviews at the Edinburgh festival. Also performing are Brighton favourites and local residents Stephen Grant and Zoe Lyons.

In the past eight years, the comedy festival has become a firm favourite amongst residents and visitors to the City with shows in three central venues – The Brighton Dome, Corn Exchange and Pavilion Theatre.

Tickets are selling fast so book early to avoid disappointment. Call 01273 709709 to secure your seats, or to book online visit www.brightondome.org

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