In recent months Birmingham has seen some fledgling comedy clubs starting up to offer something a little bit different. Along with the fortnightly Comedy At the Hare & Hounds night run by local comedian James Cook, Kill For a Seat’s Birmingham chapter kicked off this summer and has taken up a welcome residency at the MAC. A comedy club in an arts centre might sound like a misnomer, but clearly there’s an appetite for something a little more leftfield than the shows hosted by Highlight and the Glee Club.

Certainly, the acts at Kill For a Seat appear to be more Radio 4-friendly than either of those locations, although some of the conventions of comedy clubs remain. Compere Andrew Ryan started off the latest gig by getting to know the audience, including a personal trainer sat on the front row who was repeatedly drawn into conversation and pulled up on stage to test his prowess. Read the rest of this entry »

Top Irish comedian Jason Byrne comes to the Warwick Arts Centre in Coventry on Saturday November 5th, with his current show Cirque du Byrne. The winner of the Chortle Award for Best Headliner in 2007, the high-octane stand-up has garnered a host of accolades and nominations throughout his career and will be bringing bags of energy and wit on this current UK tour.

The Dublin-born comic explains what he has in store for those who have never seen him perform before. “My style of comedy is to use the audience so much.  I weave them in and out of my stand-up. When people leave my show, they all have nicknames and they all feel like they’ve been part of it. They feel like they’ve been on an adventure; a rollercoaster of fun and madness.”

Tickets are £15 and available from the Warwick Arts Centre website.

The last time Who’s Laughing Now favourite Stewart Lee performed in Birmingham, it was in October 2010 it was at the Town Hall as part of his Vegetable Stew tour. It saw him trying out material which would eventually make it into the second series of his wonderful …Comedy Vehicle show on BBC 2.

Fans of the acclaimed stand-up will be pleased to know that he’s coming back to Birmingham in March for a date at the Symphony Hall on March 30th during his Carpet Remnant World tour, which is again a work-in-progress show. Unlike many rough-and-ready shows of that ilk, Lee’s attempts at working up material invariably hit brilliant highs as he appears to be in his element when trying out new things.

Anyone with a hankering for incisive, and often cerebral, stand-up would be advised to seek out tickets – watching Stewart Lee on TV is one thing but seeing him live is a real joy. Tickets are available from the Town Hall & Symphony Hall website, priced £19.50.

Tony Law: Force of personality makes for brilliant results

The first night of a new comedy club starting up in Birmingham, this was an interesting experiment – two headline acts playing two shows at two separate venues in Birmingham, one at the Hare & Hounds in Kings Heath and the other at The Proverbial in Harborne. On the basis of the fantastic turnout at the Hare & Hounds this could prove to be a very popular night for audiences and acts alike.

Nevertheless, it took a long time for this audience to get warmed up – they were polite and attentive, but compere James Cook had to work hard for big laughs due to no small amount of reticence on the audience’s part. Clearly not fazed by this, Cook showed why he is among Birmingham’s best stand-ups with a raft of tightly-honed gags and some deft audience participation, finding humour even when those being quizzed weren’t as co-operative as he might be used to. Read the rest of this entry »

Tom Wrigglesworth: Not your average compere

For the latest Kill For a Seat night at the MAC, there was one obvious difference compared with previous shows. This time around, there was no appearance from regular compere Silky but he was instead replaced by Sheffield-born stand-up Tom Wrigglesworth.

Ostensibly known for being a storytelling comedian, Wrigglesworth’s amiable chatter wasn’t what you’d necessarily expect from a compere, but then Kill For a Seat is more relaxed and laidback than a lot of comedy clubs so his cosy style was more than fitting. Read the rest of this entry »

Gary Delaney: Perfectly crafted gags distilled into their shortest form

In just two months the Kill For A Seat comedy night at Birmingham’s MAC has gone from a modestly attended opening show to a sell-out, and this show didn’t disappoint the audience. That the monthly club night has hit its stride and become such a popular event in Birmingham’s comedy calendar so far this summer is testament to the quality of acts being booked and the work of compere Silky, who runs Kill For A Seat nights around the country.

His slightly offbeat humour was a perfect start to the show and got the audience warmed up, interacting with families and inadvertently prompting what might have been some very difficult conversations for them later on. There’s an engaging, jovial feel to his comedy which only occasionally slipped into darker material – which then became all the more effective because we weren’t expecting it. Read the rest of this entry »

Careys host their final Edinburgh preview gig of the summer this Wednesday (20th) and they’ve got another great line-up. The Coventry venue’s latest bill includes the dark and often controversial humour of  Carey Marx, and Jessica Fostekew previewing her show Luxury Tramp. Compere is Suzi Ruffell, who is fast making a name for herself on the circuit.

Admission is £8 (or £6 for concessions) and the show starts at around 8pm. Careys’ comedy night continues on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of every month.

Have you always dreamed of a life on the stage? A new talent show is searching for the stand-up stars of the future and wants to hear from you. The competition is being run by Sky1 in conjunction with Magnum Media, a production company which has previously been responsible for vehicles featuring the likes of Jack Whitehall and Chris Moyles, and there’s a prize of £25,000 for the winner.

Here’s the press release:

“Sky1 is on the hunt for budding comedians to take part in a brand new, prime time television experience, where a quick turn can win you big money.

This time, there’s no dreaded judging panel to give you a ‘no’ or buzz you off – You just have to impress the studio audience for 2 minutes.

Every act that’s a hit with the crowd will instantly become a finalist, and one of those acts will be voted the show winner and receive a whopping £25,000. Not bad for two minutes work!

There’s no returning later down the line for a high pressured series final – It’s a simple big money win every time.

Register your interest at talent@magnumtv.co.uk, and we will contact you.”

You’ve got until mid August to apply, so if you think you’ve got what it takes why not get in touch with them?

Lloyd Langford: Anyone for a pub quiz?

The latest Edinburgh preview at Careys was again subject to late changes in the bill, but this didn’t affect what was a great and varied night of comedy. Alongside the joke-filled hocus pocus of magician Pete Firman and the funny bones of Lloyd Langford, it was left to Matt Rudge to compere the evening and his self-proclaimed middle class whimsy seemed to whip up the audience so they were ready for the main acts.

His routines about failing to live up to his dad’s overt masculinity – mainly due to his ineptitude at maintaining his car – showcased some subtle personal material, and his gags were warmly received throughout the show. Rudge even made a concerted effort to interact with audience members other than the front-row regulars, bringing neat observations into play too. Read the rest of this entry »

Terry Saunders: Wistful tales of doomed love and heartbreak

There’s something about Terry Saunders‘ low-key, and even lo-fi, tales which makes them sweet and endearing despite their rather bleak outlook. His latest show, Six and a Half Loves, follows the intersecting lives of six people and three perfect relationships destined never to reach fruition.

It was set up at the outset that this would be a yarn unlike the typical romantic comedy – a piece where true love doesn’t win out in the end. Telling the story with the aid of his iPad and a projector screen, Saunders proceeded to weave these characters into a moving yet funny narrative, full of humour and heart. Read the rest of this entry »