News from Brighton, Kilkenny, London and Glasgow this week so strap yourselves in for a ride around this week's comedic world.
Sad news to start with we're afraid and thinggs aren't looking too good for the Brighton based club "Komedia" who are trying to clear debts of more than Ł300,000. The club, named best comedy venue in the south for the seventh time at this year's Chortle Awards, hosts a hugely popular weekend club called Krater as well as several regular nights and touring shows but the withdrawal of a Ł150,000 a year Arts Council grant last April and a downturn in the live music scene have hit the club hard and creditors have been asked to accept as little as a third of what they are owed so the club can keep trading. The 33 per cent is a minimum payment, we are offering to pay all the debts in full out of the company profits and that is our objective. If normal routes to finance were open we would be restructuring the debt in another way." We have our fingers crossed that things can hopefully improve for Komedia.
The Cat Laughs comedy festival in Kilkenny unveiled its programme of shows recently and the line-up is an impressive one again this year with debutants Russell Kane, John Richardson, Rhod Gilbert and Hans Teeuwan joining the likes of Dave Gorman, Adam Hills and Tommy Tiernan. Visiting US comedians include Greg Giraldo and Last Comic Standing judge Katheen Madigan. Comic Eddie Bannon, the artistic director of the festival, is excited by what is being offered: "There are 16 festival debuts in this year’s festival, from places as diverse as Tasmania, Holland and New York mixed with the classiest, on form national and international comedians around. This represents a comprehensive snapshot of what’s new and exciting in the world of stand up comedy today. This year will be as exciting for the comedians as it will for the audience.’ More details can be found on the official website.
Word reached us today that the Udderbelly, more commonly known as the venue shaped like a giant purple upside-down cow (during the Edinburgh and Brighton Fringe festivals), will be erected on the South Bank in London this summer so that it can host a range of comedy shows. Situated between Royal Festival Hall and the London Eye from May 27th to July 19th, many acts will perform including Joan Rivers, Katy Brand, Jason Byrne, Pete Firman, David O'Doherty, Clive James, Rhona Cameron, Rhod Gilbert, Reginald D Hunter and Jimeoin and a Maxwell's Fullmooners is planned for June 19th. Ed Bartlam and Charlie Wood, providers of the programming as part of the Southbank Centre’s summer season, are enthusiastic: "We hope that the unique atmosphere of Udderbelly and its surrounding Pasture will add to an already thriving Southbank Centre site this summer". Tickets can be booked now via the Underbelly website.
It was reported by Chortle this week that Frank Skinner is all set to present his first radio show, after signing a deal with Absolute Radio. Formerly known as Virgin Radio, the station has handed the Saturday morning slot to Skinner who will begin broadcasting between the hours of 8am and 10am this weekend much to the delight of the chief Clive Dickens: "He is bloody funny and tells great stories and that is what you should expect from his Saturday show. I can see the enthusiasm with which he has approached it - radio is a medium that Frank very much wants to conquer. Frank is learning to drive the desk and he will very much be the anchor of the show". The show will run for three months and will be produced by Avalon Television, the first time an Absolute show has been made by an outside company.
Finally, the Magners Glasgow International Comedy Festival kicks off today. Providing eighteen days of top quality comedy, Reginald Hunter, Mark Nelson, Rhod Gilbert, Rob Brydon and David O'Doherty have already sold out their performances. We'll endeavour to post up as many reviews and articles as we can lay our hands on so keep checking back for the latest. Further information on the festival can be found on the official website.
With "Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle" starting on BBC Two on Monday (please make sure you tune in/set your video recorders etc!) and with the Glasgow Comedy Festival commencing today, we'll leave you with footage of Mr. Lee performing some quality stand-up as part of the festival back in 2005. Enjoy!
This weekend's comedy listings (Fri 13th/Sat 14th March):
Birmingham Glee Club: Sean Collins, Mark Olver, Simon Fox, Richard Morton
Cardiff Glee Club: John Fothergill, Gary Delaney, Alun Cochrane, Mark Walker
Bristol Comedy Box: John Robins (Fri only), Stuart Goldsmith (Sat only), Carl Donnelly, Dan Antopolski
Manchester Comedy Store: Craig Campbell, Simon Evans, Wilson Dixon, Addy Van Der Borgh, Guest
London Comedy Store: Paul Thorne, Steve Hughes, Ian Moore, John Gordillo, Russell Howard
Tattershall Castle: Michael Legge, Steve Hughes, Terry Alderton, Paul Tonkinson (Fri only), Brendon Dempsey (Sat only)
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