Cubic Comedy
Normally the first Thursday of the month is either the double between The Picturedrome and Stanwick, or sometimes it’s the three way with St Neots as well. This month however it was FOUR shows in one night. Adding a special event at the Brampton Halt. A quick thanks to Pete Teckman and Ryan Mold for show running the other 2 venues.
As always, I was in Stanwick with support from Stu, and for this one we had Andrew Bird headlining, on his Birthday (I know right, what a guy!). We had Glenn Moore opening the show, Louise Leigh in the middle section and hosted by Paul Revill. What a corker of a night, loads of laughs. I personally had a lot of fun. I managed to have a catch up with Glenn who I know is an avid gamer and got an interesting recommendation for a game called Balatro. I’ll update the end of this blog with my thoughts on this if I get chance to give it a go, just for you gamers out there… (I don’t even know what this blog is any more).
Picturedrome - Glenn Moore, Ben Norris, Alex Mason, Ross Smith
Brampton Halt - Josh Pugh, Pete Selwood, Karen Bailey, Pete Teckman
St Neots - Ben Norris, Mary Bourke, Kent Cameron, Ryan Mold
Pictured below: Glenn Moore
Flashback - Freshers weekend
I haven’t done a flashback segment for a little while, so just to make this blog even longer than usual… let’s take you back 3 years when we were asked to book some comedy for Freshers weekend at the Northampton University.
So just to set the scene, we were asked to book acts for the comedy stage over a Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the grounds of the University. There were 2 main stages, one for music and one for comedy and we would be alternating between the two. On the Friday night we had Nathan Caton, Sarah Callaghan, Ross Smith and then a couple of hours later Glenn Moore and Paul Sinha. It was quite busy, we had good crowds but primarily this was due to the music stage having Tinchy Stryder and Professor Green that night. So initially we kicked off with our first section, then after us Tinchy hit the stage, after that we went back on and this is where it got interesting…
Obviously the timings were tight, we may have been slightly late getting on and you know when Sinha’s having a good time and the hoola hoop comes out and he recites the periodical table. Just as Paul starts this part of his routine we get the organiser come over to us to say Professor Green needs to go on stage at half 9, due to a flight he needs to catch after the show. Now picture the scene, on the music stage there are 2 massive screens where they were showing the comedy stage live to anyone that was there. Professor Green had more or less got onto the stage expecting to start but Paul hadn’t finished, either side of him was Paul swinging that hoola hoop, “Rhenium, Osmium, Iridium and Platinum” and so on… All the while we’re getting told Paul needs to stop so Mr. Green could start, but there was no way we were going to interrupt such a performance. It was a sight to behold! Eventually Paul finished his set, a good few minutes over time and apparently Professor Green may have turned Professor Red by the time he was able to start.
The rest of the weekend was pretty much a wash out, it was all outdoors, the weather was miserable and unbeknownst to us, the students had actually gone home… So it was, let’s say, pretty quiet. On the Saturday it was that wet outside they moved us indoors, where Darren Harriott, Abandoman, Fern Brady and Patrick Monahan played to about 20 odd people. Crazy right?
Then on Sunday, we moved back outdoors and attendance picked up ever so slightly. We had Tom Lucy, Paul McCaffrey, Esther Manito, Will Duggan, Peter Rethinasamy and Seann Walsh. It was the first time we had the pleasure of meeting both Peter and Seann and luckily for us they were both staying in Northampton for the night. So although the show didn’t turn out the way we might have liked, we all headed to the Lamplighter for a few drinks afterwards. It was certainly a weekend I won’t forget in a hurry.
Bradlaugh
Back to the Bradlaugh with a line up that I was very much looking forward to, until I got the message at 10:20am that day. Abandoman has to pull out due to being unwell. So that left us with an interesting and frantic start to the day. So we canvassed the comedy countryside, like pigs snuffling for truffles and we came up with a fine replacement in Paul McCaffrey.
The night itself was good fun, getting to see two newer acts to us in the Halls of Ridiculous and Bella Hull. All hosted by one of the nicest guys around Jonathan Elston.
Pictured below: Halls of Ridiculous and Bella Hull
Newnham
On Saturday 12th the Crate headed over to Newnham Village Hall. We’ve done a few at this venue and the locals have been very kind. By that I mean they haven’t created a Wicker man as of yet. I remember the first time I drove there and it was pitch black, barely any street lights on in the middle of nowhere. Just the one building illuminated in the dark, signifying where the party was at, no one else was home, the whole village was congregated in this hall.
But it’s a cracking gig, this time around we had Mike Gunn, Kevin Daniel, Dawn Bailey and Pete Teckman hosting.
Do You Believe In Magic?
Sunday 13th. Friends of the Crate Alan and Kat Hudson contacted Mike not that long ago, informing us that they were filming their new show soon, but really needed to run it out again beforehand. This is how and why we ended up with a Sunday afternoon gig at the Bradlaugh…
It was a brilliant turn out, and the lovely people at the Bradlaugh were kind enough to offer some discounted Sunday roasts for those that had tickets. I’d recommend the roasts!
Typically after the show someone said to me, “can you explain how they did that trick?” Why oh why would you want that illusion ruined, just live in the moment and enjoy the entertainment for what it is. Most of us wouldn’t really want to know what goes into some of our processed foods, or what really goes on behind the door at Number 10 or how someone is really feeling when we pass them on the street and give them the obligatory ‘Alright?’…Anyway I’ll be honest, I haven’t got a Scooby Doo!
Hardingstone
15th October. Another sold out show at The Sun Inn in Hardingstone. Mike and Pete oversaw proceedings on this one. On the bill was Jules O’Brien, Michael McKenzie, Rik Goodman and Scott Bennett.
British Comedian Of The Year 2024
17th October back to the Bradlaugh for the Northampton heat of British Comedian of the Year 2024. All in all, an interesting mixture of acts and styles of comedy. Congratulations to Jason Stampe and Karen Bayley for making it through to the next round, plus Nicole Harris as a potential wild card entry.
Pictured below: Jason Stampe
Saints Coffee
Some more new acts and some more new material. For this one I was joined by my younger brother of 15 for his first proper taste of some intimate comedy. I could tell majority of the material went well over his head, but there were moments of genuine laughter and confusion from the various styles we were treated to.
The crowd were great for this one, supportive and invested which makes for a fun night.
Pictured below: Louie Green and Abbie Edwards
The Derngate
A minor update, Mike has been in discussions with the Royal & Derngate regarding another ‘Megashow’. There we go, merely planting the seed. Drop some names in the comments section, who should we look at for the next one?
Balatro - For those that were eagerly awaiting an update…
So I said I’d give you an update on Glenn’s recommendation on the game Belatro. It’s essentially poker, but roguelike.
Description from Steam - ‘Balatro is a hypnotically satisfying deckbuilder where you play illegal poker hands, discover game-changing jokers, and trigger adrenaline-pumping, outrageous combos.’
I must admit, 5 minutes in I was thinking of all the games to recommend, it’s a bit strange and have I just wasted £12.99?… Then 45 mins in, I was hooked. So addictive once you get familiar with the mechanics of the game. You spend so long just trying to beat your previous score and unlocking new cards that completely shift the way the game plays. Nice one Glenn.
Join us next month where we’ll review the functionality of a Keter storage bench, explore whether jokes are funnier just because they are told by someone famous and answer the most important questions, like whether expecting the unexpected makes it the unexpected expected. Bye for now.