Ealing Comedy Festival
Friday night was the opening night gala of the Ealing Comedy Festival with Craig Hill, Boy with Tape on his Face, Kerry Godliman, David Baddiel and Arthur Smith as the MC.
First up was Craig Hill who came on stage wearing a leather kilt and began dancing to Madonna’s Hung Up very actively for almost the entirety of the song. He made a lot of jokes around the fact he is gay and whilst he was quite funny, the crowd I was in made it a little awkward to enjoy the set.
I’ve been aware of the Boy with Tape On His Face for quite a few years but I’ve never actually got around to seeing him live. He was amazing. What he managed to achieve without saying a word, just using his body language to sell the act along with some audience participation was amazing. He relies on the people he picks out from the audience to go along with what he is planning on doing without giving them instruction and it makes for a very interesting act. I’m sure there are times when people refuse or don’t go along with it, but at Ealing everyone went with it and the act was amazing. Go and see him if you haven’t already, you won’t be disappointed.
I’ve seen Kerry Godliman on the TV quite a bit, most recently in Derek, Ricky Gervais’ wonderful show about life in a nursing home. She is always good in whatever I’ve seen her in. Her act consisted mostly of observations about being a Mum and I could relate to most of it which made it even funnier. Who hasn’t looked at the settings on their washing machine and thought when am I ever going to use that?! I really enjoyed her set.
The main act of the evening was David Baddiel who came on to tell amusing stories about his life in show business. It was interesting and funny but not belly ache laughs. Unfortunately, being the last act the alcohol had been well and truly flowing by that point and a few people began to see the act as boring, heckling and ruining the atmosphere some what for the rest of us. David handled the situation well and we all ignored the idiots the best we could.
I enjoyed the set and found it interesting but having been to quite a few of these festival shows it wasn’t the usual sort of act we are used to and I think that was maybe what caused the disruption. People were expecting just straight jokes and belly laughs rather than amusing anecdotes. Personally I enjoyed it and found it interesting.
Arthur Smith was the compare for the night. He was very good. He told a mixture of jokes, anecdotes and poems. He even got a naked woman to walk across the back of the stage to the delight of the men in the audience. At the end he doubled it by having two naked women walk past. I wasn’t offended by it but with the crowd I was sitting with it was a little awkward, I got the impression they didn’t know how to react and maybe had to hide their true reactions 😉
All in all it was a good night. If you have never been to the festival then I would recommend it, I think this was my 6th year and I’ve never been disappointed with a line up. Walpole Park is a really nice place to walk round too.
Headliners Comedy Club, Chiswick
I went along to Headliners in Chiswick last night after watching Arsenal win their first trophy in 9 years on the TV, expecting to see a lot of drunk Gooners staggering out of pubs.
When we got to the George IV pub I wasn’t disappointed there was a table of very drunk Gooners struggling over their words and drinking champagne. It was nice to see them smiling for a change. I can only imagine what it’s like to wait 9 years for a trophy only to pull back a 2 – 0 scoreline against Hull in the first 10 minutes to win it! Ok enough Arsenal bashing I think, so to the comedy.
The MC last night was Jarred Christmas who I have seen on TV, he was very good as an MC. He hosts a programme at the venue called 4 Kiwis Walk Into A Bar. If you are interested more information can be found here: 4 Kiwis Walk Into a Bar
Richard Morton was the first act on stage, I had seen him before at the Ealing Comedy Festival, he does jokes and topical comedy songs whilst playing the guitar. For me I had heard most of the act before but it was funny nonetheless.
Mike Gunn was next and although he had a quietly spoken manner on stage he was very good. His material about using public toilets and toilet attendants was particularly good as everyone can relate to the awkwardness of the situation.
Stephen Grant was the last act of the night and he had the toughest time on stage. A guy in the audience had decided to talk through his act, he could have chosen to ignore it but instead he addressed it in a good way. Unfortunately it wasn’t the only time the guy interrupted his act. I felt sorry for him as no-one else had experienced problems and being the last act it would have been good to hear his material. But he dealt with the situation well, was funny and managed to guide the act back on track and it ended the night on a high.
As always I would recommend Headliners in Chiswick as I have yet to see a bad act.
The line up has been announced for the Ealing Comedy Festival this year, if you enjoy live comedy its a nice place to go.
Headliners: Chiswick
I’ve always enjoyed my trips to Headliners in Chiswick, even though we don’t normally know the acts in advance I havent seen a weak act yet. Last night was different as we went to see Sol Bernstein, we had seen him before at the Ealing Comedy Festival.
The evening started with Phil Dinsdale as the MC and he proved to be a very good warm up act. His material about going to the gym was really funny.
Next up was Addy Van Der Borgh who had us in stitches. His humour was quite visual with facial expressions adding to the punch lines but very funny.
Then it was the man we came to see Sol Bernstein. A little old Jewish American who looks like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. I think he surprised the room with the filth that came out of it. Having seen his act before we weren’t surprised and I genuinely had a stitch from laughing.
Finishing the night was Andrew Maxwell who I’ve seen on the TV on and off for a few years. He was really good. His material was different from the stuff you see him do on the TV. But funny nevertheless.
He rounded off a good solid night of performances well and I ended up leaving with sore cheeks from laughing which I consider to be a good end to a good night.
If you like live comedy Headliners in Chiswick is a really nice venue. It’s in a room at the back of the George IV Pub which in itself is a really nice pub. It’s easy to get to on transport and parking has never been a problem.
You can pre-book tickets http://www.headlinerscomedy.com/chiswick.html or pay on the door if it is not a sell out.
Bill Bailey: Quampeddler live at Wembley Arena
This was my second comedy show in a week, you wait a long time to see a comedian you like perform only to end up seeing two in the same week!
It was the last night of the Quampeddler tour, not that I realised this in advance. We had good seats quite close to the stage on the side seating area which meant we could watch the stage or the big screens.
Bill did his usual mix of quirky jokes, observations and musical based humour.
His rendition of the Downton Abbey theme tune was really quite good.
I particularly enjoyed the end when he brought out a band including Mark Lamarr and they played various well-known hits in a country-style, very entertaining.
A thoroughly enjoyable evening and I would recommend seeing Bill Bailey live or getting the DVD of Quampeddler for Xmas cause it was good fun.
An Author's Life For Me 