New Material Nights Explained

Tuesday 17th May at The Wheatsheaf

Tomorrow night we’re back at The Wheatsheaf in Dallington Village for another free entry, pay what you want comedy night. We’ve got 6 acts and our MC Ben Aveling.

These nights consist of acts trying out new material or new acts perfecting their set to perform at bigger clubs up and down the country. It’s essentially a workshop, and the only way to know if you’ve written something funny is to say it in front of a crowd full of strangers right? And let’s be honest, Northampton has been the testing ground for things like Chip & Pin, delivery robots, so why not comedy…

These nights are a lot of fun, it’s relaxed, in an intimate space. Talk to someone who has been watching stand up for a long time, they’ll likely have a story about how they saw one of the big TV acts in a small pub years ago before they made it big.

We don’t charge an entry fee for these nights, we don’t make any money on these nights. We put our time and effort in to support the acts, local venues and to give people something else to do on a Tuesday evening. We do a bucket split at the end and all the money taken after the shows is split between the comics to contribute towards their travel costs.

If you fancy it, we’ll be kicking off at 8pm tomorrow night. Or it’s the 3rd Tuesday of the month at The Wheatsheaf in Dallington Village. They do some great food as well, so why not pop down a bit earlier and check it out.

May 12th Comedy At The Charles Bradlaugh

So this coming Thursday 12th May, we’re back at The Charles Bradlaugh for another monthly comedy night.

Headlining this event is Rachel Fairburn - One half of the All Killa No Filla Podcast. Rachel has appeared on BBC Presents: Stand Up For Live Comedy and Funny Festival Live, part of the BBC’s Festival of Funny. Her TV credit's include Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled, Russell Howard Hour Life Lessons and House of Games.

Also on the bill:

Stephen Grant - Stephen Grant is one of the UK’s funniest, hardest working and most respected comedians. Whether entertaining full-size theatres, voicing animations, warming up TV audiences, presenting radio shows or hosting corporate award nights Stephen never fails to pull in the laughs.

Dinesh Nathan - Winning several gong shows, he won South Coast Comedian Of The Year and was a finalist at the Komedia New Act competition and the coveted Leicester Mercury Comedian Of The Year competition. Described as a “mix of high-spirited delivery with a sarcastic, self-deprecating viewpoint”, his club-ready, bulletproof and relentless act was named “one to watch” by Brighton Fringe Review.

Will Duggan - Will Duggan has been performing comedy since 2009 and since then has cemented himself as a dynamic and interesting performer in comedy clubs around the country. He mixes stories and gags with a cheerfully cynical view of the world. Will has provided tour support for Justin Moorhouse, Hal Cruttenden and Gary Delaney. Will has also appeared on the Russell Howard Hour.

We’re ready for another cracking night of live comedy. Are you? 👇

Michael Legge has written a book - Strawberry to Pigs

If you are familiar with stand up comedian Michael Legge, then firstly you are in for a treat. If you’re not, but you enjoy funny books, you are equally in for a strawberry style treat.

‘Michael Legge is a stand-up comedian and this collection of his writing from 2008 to 2020 is his way of apologising for inventing online anger and wrecking all our lives.
Stories of romance, success and bravery are not included. Instead of writing about how fun and exciting the life of a comedian is, he decided to tell the truth.’

You can order his book through Go Faster Stripe

Or alternatively, limited signed copies are available through Bandcamp!

Comedy during quarantine

During these strange times we all need things to distract ourselves, to pass the time under house arrest. You may well have started decorating rooms, clearing out the garage or getting through a back log of books or TV shows you never thought you’d get the time for…

Live comedy now attempts its evolutionary change, like the underground shrimps that are now blind as sight is no longer useful to them. Is it a case of use it or lose it? As we take advantage of modern technology, we now have virtual comedy events broadcasted on Youtube, Facebook Live etc. It’s certainly a different experience, but one I’d recommend for getting your fix of live comedy and entertainment.

With this post I wanted to highlight some great options for you to enjoy some live comedy events online. Because there is still one thing we all need to do during these times and that’s laugh. (All BOLD text are links to their respective websites).

1. Stuart Goldsmith’s Infinite Sofa - “

   “Make yourself comfy on my iiiiiiiiiiiinfinite sofa! We’ve got musical comedy, celebrity guests, team games, surprise chickens, proper jokes, roving reporters, it’s a massively multiplayer online chat show!

   (Look basically I get to be Kermit the frog and I’M LOVING IT!)”

   Coming soon, special guests, JAMES ACASTER, SARAH MILLICAN, ROMESH RANGANATHAN, SHAPPI KHORSANDI

2. Troy Tawke - See Troy Hawke Live on his Facebook page with his live phone in show.

   “Low-fi inaugural attempt at a live phone in show will stream live. I’ll suggest themes but really it’s up to you, whatever you want to talk about. Pep talks, theories, coping strategies or just blowing off steam. Full disclosure. I haven’t got a bloody clue what I’m doing.”

3. Jon Pearson is also hosting a great virtual live comedy show on Youtube - Click here to jump on board to see the next available show.

4. Scott Bennet is also performing comedy from his shed! Which you can check out on Scott Bennett’s Facebook Page.

5. We would also highly recommend checking out Jack’s Night In - A New Weekly Comedy Variety Entertainment Show From The Mind and Bedroom of Comedian Jack Gleadow

   Featuring Stand-up, Special Guests, Games and Sketches
   Episodes released online every Friday at 7pm on Facebook and YouTube.

These are just a few of the cool things comedian’s are doing to keep us entertained. Don’t forget there are some amazing podcasts available as well. I’ve selected a few personal favourites below.

1. Ben Briggs Podcast - If you’ve seen Ben live and enjoyed his comedy, you’ll love this podcast, hear Ben rant about various topics from the comfort of his own home. It’s what Ben does best.

2. Insane in the Menbrain “Woke, Feminist, Geezer” (The List) Rich Wilson talks to funny & interesting people about their experiences with men’s mental health.”

3. The Reality Show Every Monday, comedians and best mates Stephen Bailey and Brennan Reece will sit down with one of the nations biggest reality stars to find out what’s really real!

4. Jokes Every week Mark Simmons and a guest share jokes they've written that just haven't worked - because they're too long, too stupid, too clever, too groanworthy or just too rubbish.

The list could be so much bigger, there is so much great content online at the moment. So get your laughs in and hopefully we can go back to how comedy should be performed in the near future!

Drop a comment to let us know what you’ve been watching or listening to for your comedy fix!

Stay sane and more importantly stay safe! x