Category Archives: Comedy

Review – Screaming Blue Murder, Underground at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 7th June 2025

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It’s been two years since we last saw a Screaming Blue Murder in its natural home – Underground at the Derngate – as that blessed RAAC issue meant the theatre had to close and then slowly reopen bit by bit; the Underground being the last to emerge into the post-apocalyptic daylight. Since then, Screaming Blue has been in the Royal (where it worked pretty well), Lola’s Bar (which was small but not bad) and the deathly hallows of Filmhouse Screen 2 which just kills live comedy stone dead. However, last night’s show was the second to be held in the newly refreshed Underground (and they’ve done a good job of that) and with a very full audience! I can officially confirm that Northampton’s Screaming Blue Murder is back back back and it’s great news.

Of course, it wouldn’t be Screaming Blue without the cheeky delivery and shiny head of our genial host, Dan Evans, finding out all about the more prominent audience members. There was the Trade Union official from the GMB, which sadly has few boilermakers amongst its membership anymore, taciturn David from Glasgow, Alex the Ping Pong king who supplies both Bangkok and the Olympics – all aspects of its usage covered – and the party who met through the Simon de Senlis school. What a knight. Great work from Dan, and I trust he had a sound sleep at the Dunstable Travelodge.

First up, and in a change from the advertised programme, was the manic unpredictability of Paul Pirie, someone who’s graced the Screaming Blue stage many times before. In a comparison that’s both complimentary and alarming, he does remind me of the late Robin Williams, not only in appearance, but also in his tendency to go off on weird tangents peppered with sound effects. He also has Williams’ ability to be both ecstatically funny and perilously teetering on the edge of a mental crisis. He didn’t limit himself to the stage either, at one point wandering all around the audience. His material does occasionally veer close to where angels fear to tread, but for the most part it worked well!

Our next act was the excellent Wendy Wason, who delivers recognisable Mum material straight from the heart, with some hilarious domestic observations resulting from having three kids. There were painful memories of home schooling during the pandemic, and reflections on how sobriety wasn’t big in those days; I loved the idea that rosé is a “driving wine”. She also has some excellent material about her rather caring son finding out about periods. Always terrifically entertaining.

Our headliner was Matt Green, who always comes across as someone inherently polite, charming and thoughtful but with a naughty sting to his tail. He regaled us with stories of family life, including the dangers of subscribing to TikTok; but he was particularly good with his assessment of Trump as a toddler, and how brilliantly Keir Starmer played him in that terrifying Oval Office scenario. After the high energy of the two previous acts, Mr Green has a much more measured and conversational approach, but it fits well with his material and appearance, and he ended the evening on a high for everyone.

That was the last Screaming Blue of the Spring season – hopefully now it’s back in the Underground it will go from strength to strength when it returns in the autumn!

Review – Viggo Venn: British Comedian, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 4th June 2025

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Delayed by a few months due to his broken foot – and with all that malarkey scampering around the theatre no wonder he broke it – Viggo Venn finally hits the stage running at the Royal and Derngate with his touring show British Comedian – a beautifully apt title as he’s neither British nor – if truth be told – a comedian. Unlike most of the other Viggistas in the audience, I didn’t see his Britain’s Got Talent appearances, but I have happy memories of being assaulted by him on a couple of Edinburgh Fringe stages over the past ten years and was excited to discover what perilously anarchical fun he had in store for us.

In many respects this was a theatre experience unlike others. First and foremost, the audience all seemed to be in on all the gags throughout the entire show – I felt like I was one of a handful of people who hadn’t read the script. Audience members of all ages constantly called out from the stalls (yes, no, shut up, go away, do it, don’t do it, and of course One More Time, etc). And it wasn’t like panto or stand-up, where there’s always a certain embarrassment at being picked on; here, if Viggo approached you, you leapt up and down and joined in as if you were being saved by Billy Graham. Very amusing indeed – but also fairly peculiar!

Viggo Venn is a master clown; of that there is no question. This is a totally anarchic, high energy performance of outrageous inventiveness and brilliant interaction with the audience. And Mr Venn cuts a truly engaging persona, with a most mischievous and expressive face topped off with hair that looks like he’s pushed his finger in the electric socket. A true Scandinavian, he only uses language when it is absolutely necessary; most of his comedy comes simply from his physical presence. Running around the stage whirling off Hi-Vis jackets to the tune of Daft Punk’s One More Time like there’s no tomorrow, tumbling off into the audience and insisting people at the front catch him next time (his pratfalls are extraordinary); constantly getting poor front row Paul to help him back onto the stage, which didn’t do Paul’s personal dignity any good. There really is no limit to what he might do.

During the course of the show – a little under an hour and a half without a break – Viggo becomes part of a wedding ceremony for two members of the audience, he helps save a drowning audience member on stage, he imitates audience members’ cars and his finale act is to blow up an enormous balloon and then get inside it. Nor is he alone; he is irregularly joined by a Vampire who revels in all things spooky (Steffen Hånes on deliciously stupid form) including becoming the least convincing bat in the history of stage puppetry (don’t look at me, look at the bat), because, well, why not?

For me the most enjoyable sequence was his homage to Eminem’s My Name Is… where members of the crowd speak their name into a microphone and Viggo gives a running commentary on that person’s character and behaviour. Doesn’t sound like much, but it works incredibly well.

If you don’t get this kind of humour, you simply don’t get it – and that’s that. I saw a few stony faced people in the audience, and I get where they’re coming from. The nature of the show means it’s very – and I mean very – repetitive, and my personal view is that I probably admire his act more than I enjoy it. But the vast majority of the audience were ecstatic, and my guess is that, from the length of the queue at the end to buy a Hi-Vis jacket and have him sign it, he’s doing exactly what his fan base want (and hopefully making a fortune from the merch.) There are just a few more dates in this delayed part of his UK tour, but I very much doubt Viggo Venn is going away any time soon!

4-starsFour They’re Jolly Good Fellows!

Review – Comedy Crate at the Charles Bradlaugh, Northampton, 8th May 2025

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Thursday saw another bumper package of comedy at the Charles Bradlaugh, Northampton, courtesy of the Comedy Crate, including a last minute change of cast which propelled natural headliner Matt Richardson into the role of MC, and what a brilliant host he was. Perfectly mixing the usual duties of getting to know the crowd with delivering excellent original material, he kept the comedic bar very high throughout the evening.

So not only did we get to meet investment fraud investigator Samantha – who turned Matt’s tax bill material back on him to blistering effect – we also discovered eighteen year old twins Tighe (?) and Felix, who accepted all the teasing that deserved like the well brought-up good sports they clearly are. Matt also told us stories of life in his rural Oxfordshire village, with his pushy GP friend and the posh geezers who hang around the Sainsburys Local. Brilliant and very believable observations of wannabe tough lads who can’t help the fact that they’re called Julian and go skiing twice a year. Fantastic stuff!

Either by gifted booking or hilarious chance, to celebrate VE night we had comics from all over the world. All three acts were new to us, which always makes for an exciting line up. First off was Hubert Mayr, a 39 year old Austrian stuck in a London which he can’t afford – he should come to Northampton, things are much cheaper here. Much of his material is based on how he came to the UK in the first place, and how he is planning to return to Austria soon. He has an engagingly nervous energy which belies his Schwarzeneggar style voice but works very well with his observations as an outsider on life in the UK. Extremely funny material that gently harks back to the war, but with some modern gems too, such as how to deal with noisy neighbours. Very entertaining!

Next up was Blank Peng, from a quiet, rural area of China that only has about 40 million inhabitants. Great attacking delivery with excellent material that compares life in the UK with China and particularly grapples with those elements of her homeland that make the Brits uncomfortable – child labour, TikTok data-harvesting, and nuclear war for starters. Despite a strong accent which I must confess meant I didn’t catch everything she said at first, she has adopted beautiful idiomatic use of the English language which makes her material even more hard-hitting and relatable. Some surprising engagement with the audience too!

Our headliner was Mike Rice from Ireland, who creates an instant rapport with his very matey persona – he’s definitely the kind of performer you can imagine sharing a pint with. On the day that a new (American) Pope was proclaimed, he had some terrific material about what that means for the Catholic Church. Leading his funny stories on to  where angels fear to tread, he had me in hysterics with his vision of Donald Trump being taken from behind in jail by a tiny Mexican, and he has atruly hilarious sequence about a threesome and the special support that his pal was able to lend during the process. Effortlessly funny, and absolutely first class!

As we head into the summer, the Comedy Crate goes into Edinburgh Preparation mode, with many Fringe Previews lined up all over town (and indeed the county), with the highlight being the Comedy Crate Weekender on 12th – 13th July. Not to be missed!

Review – Dara Ó Briain, Re: Creation, Bedford Corn Exchange, 9th April 2025

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A Dara Ó Briain gig is never just a mere show – it’s an event. He’s a giant in more than one way; the most expert storyteller and comic presence, even when he’s in a room with over a thousand people, you still feel that he’s confiding just in you – all these other people around us are a mirage, apart from those brave enough to sit in the front row, from whom Mr Ó B attempts to winkle out comedy nuggets that he will return to again and again throughout the evening.

We were introduced to recently redundant gas pipe replacement fitter James and his wife Kate the cyberfraud expert; Jay the secretive Luton Airport security officer who’s going to make a fortune from letting out rooms near the new Bedford Theme Park, Cambridge Micky and her Californian friend who was enticed into seeing the show in a strange mystic vision, and test driver Josh who admitted to be the youngest in the front couple of rows, at the age of 29. Once Mr Ó Briain gets his teeth into your personal details he doesn’t let go of them over the next two and a half hours, like a benevolent comedy Rottweiler.

During those two and half hours, he has plenty of opportunity to explore some delightful comic avenues, such as younger peoples’ predilection for no pubic hair, memories of Now That’s What I Call Music compilations, Irish school poo (don’t ask), and, my favourite, his experience of attending an online Speed Awareness Course. Having done one myself, Mr Ó Briain absolutely nails every single aspect of that humiliating, almost religiously contrite, couple of hours.

For his previous tour, So Where Were We, he concentrated on the story of searching for his birth parents, as he was adopted. He found his mother, but not his father. In Re: Creation, he continues the search for his father, and that gripping, gasp-inducing, but fortunately also hilarious account takes up the majority of the second half of the evening. No spoilers from me, but, apparently, the Bedford audience gave the most astonishing reaction in his tour so far to one of the revelations in the story; all I can say is, I for one was genuinely astonished, and it must have taken a good half a minute for my jaw dropping to end.

As always, Dara was on unflappable form; his quick-witted memory going into overdrive, and exuding super confidence from every pore whilst always keeping it real and taking all opportunities for a spot of self-deprecation. A great blend of both style and substance. Re: Creation is still in its early days and continues to tour the UK and Ireland over the next twelve months. Highly recommended!

Review – Screaming Blue Murder, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 27th February 2025

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Constant as the Northern Star, it was time for another Screaming Blue Murder at the Royal and Derngate – scheduled to be the last in the old Royal theatre before moving back to its proper home in the freshly de-RAAC’d Underground in April. Also, as firmly identified with Screaming Blue as Heinz with Baked Beans, was our regular host and MC Dan Evans, suffering from the sniffles, but there’s a lot of it about. Fortunately a kind lady to my left was able to offer him the occasional tissue. I could have given him a whole packet, but didn’t want to draw attention to myself.

Dan set about mingling his way through the crowd, which seemed largely made up of escapees from tough and dangerous East Side Northampton – NN3 to the cognoscenti. We also met Ginny, the English student who doesn’t attend uni – a somewhat complicated arrangement – and Ryan, the crime lecturer who didn’t return for the final act and, thereby, as is always a risk if you do that, missed the best bit. We also met Roger from Northern Ireland, whose unexpected mime for the reason he’s now in Northampton left Dan appropriately speechless.

Showing how our cup ranneth over with talent in this line up, our first act, normally a headliner, was Roger Monkhouse, someone we’ve admired and enjoyed many times over the years. Celebrating his 60th birthday apparently, his young fogey persona is now distinctly becoming at least middle-aged; I can’t say he’s now an old fogey, because he’s still younger than me. He delivers his material as almost a stream of consciousness, that fools you into thinking he’s making it up on the spur of the moment; but in fact it’s meticulously crafted to give that effect. His material centres on that recognisable confusion of living in the modern world as a no-longer modern bloke, with some lovely relatable observations on how we all just manage to plod on despite our brains and bodies letting us down. Always a delight.

Our next act, and new to us, was Dee Allum, who introduces herself from the start as a trans woman, and whose material centres on her life and the problems she faces, but also you can see the joy her new identity brings her. She has a relatively quiet style, occasionally feeling a little tentative until she gets the vibe of the audience but then grows in confidence as her set progresses. There’s a lot of refreshingly new and innovative material here; I loved her deliberately long and immaculately phrased story involving Kurdish and Yorkshire, and there are some terrific insights into managing a relationship when you come out as trans during the relationship. She ends her routine with a brilliant tale of sperm donation. I’m tempted to say we’ve all been there, but of course we haven’t; but if you have, you really get it. Definitely One To Watch.

After two gently delivering wordsmiths, our headliner was Phil Nichol who gave the evening a hugely energetic kick up the backside. Buzzing with excitement, he exploded around the stage with his uniquely unrestrained hilarity; a bit like the most endearing spoilt kid you ever met. He radiates a strange blend of danger and affability, mixed with oodles of cool, and a quick comedy brain that seizes any opportunity. Armed with his guitar, he gave us some excellent rock parodies, and fixated on poor second row Luke, upon whom he (literally) thrust his faux-sexual advances. Luke proved his worth later when he joined Phil on stage and showed what a good sport he was. Extremely funny throughout and a great way to end the night.

Review – Eshaan Akbar, I Can’t Get No Satisfakshaan, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 21st February 2025

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It’s been a surprisingly long time – six years – since we last saw Eshaan Akbar live, but he’s still very much the same, urbane, civilised chap as before. He cuts a very relaxed figure on the stage. Unhurried, unfazed, taking everything in his stride; you know you’re in very safe hands with his intelligent content and friendly delivery, even though there’s a sting in the tail to many of his stories.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, as, after a brief getting-to-know-you session at the beginning of the show, including talking to an audience member whose sister insisted she came and thus made the ultimate sacrifice by giving up watching EastEnders, Eshaan introduced us to his support act, the excellent Alexandra Haddow, whom we’ve seen many times before and is always very entertaining. This was the perfect gig for her to recollect her Corby upbringing, and the exciting occasion on when a railway line finally reached the town; she also told us about her boyfriend-geezer and his simple North London ways. I loved her material about relationship “launches” on Instagram, and the pitfalls of being too honest about other people’s ex’s. Confident, smart, and very funny, it was an excellent start to the evening.

After the interval, we welcomed Mr Akbar back, for an hour’s worth of material reflecting his own national identity, as a brown man, born to Pakistani/Bangladeshi parents in Whitechapel, who completely identifies as English – although he doesn’t pass the old Norman Tebbit cricket test. A private education introduced him to the Best of British Banter, as evidenced by his so-called friend Ben, who gave him a deceptive nickname that took years for the penny to drop. Now aged 40, he’s unexpectedly back on the dating scene – including the Muslim version of Tinder – and he sees the world, or at least the country, through the eyes of experience of travelling up and down the land and meeting all kinds of people.

It takes a bold comedian to mine humour from racism (not his own, I should add) and he frequently doesn’t play safe with his material, much to his credit. Thoughtful and intelligent comedy that points out the differences and the similarities between races; and whilst it never truly soars to the heights of hysterically funny, is always entertaining, thought-provoking and full of relatable experiences and observations. Very enjoyable! His tour continues throughout the UK and Ireland into April.

Review – Comedy Crate at the Charles Bradlaugh, Northampton, 13th February 2025

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It was with a buzz of expectation that a merry band of a hundred or more souls settled down for another excellent line up of comedians at the Charles Bradlaugh, all arranged by those nice people at the Comedy Crate. Some new names to us, and some familiar; it was always going to be a great night.

Our host for the evening was the jovial Ross McGrane, whom we’d seen once before as the opening act at a Screaming Blue Murder, almost ten years ago. A naturally funny guy, he’s full of electric enthusiasm and is the perfect MC to get us all in the mood. As well as working his way around the crowd, he also shared some excellent comedy nuggets, such as an exploration of the cost of toys, and the childcare advice of his East Ham granny; I too had an East Ham granny, so can appreciate the veracity of her wisdom. He kept the whole thing going at a tremendous pace and was a classy conduit indeed.

First up, and someone we’ve seen many times before, was the fantastic Steve Day, still coming to terms with the potential for offence at the difference between deaf and Deaf; as a deaf comedian, no one can express that better than him. A terrific communicator, he has great material about having a household with grown up kids, his experience co-hosting a Paralympics event with Boris Johnson (shudder) and I still love his line about moving to beautiful Sutton Coldfield for the views. Bold and inventive, he takes comedy where angels fear to tread, and the audience loved him.

Two comedians shared the second spot, and we started with Harry Pettitt, introduced by Ross as Harry Kane for no discernible reason. A fresh-faced Essex lad who looks like butter wouldn’t melt, he has a confident stage presence and an instant connection with the audience. He gave us some very funny routines about the benefits of spending time with posh people and the joys of travelling. I reckon this young chap is going places. After him, came Matt Adlington, another naturally funny guy, who kept the energy up; continuing the Essex theme of the night, he has a smart delivery and a rather kindly presence. He was surprised to know how well we knew our Magpie material, and has a uniquely splendid reason for sporting a beard.

Our headliner was Jordan Gray, someone whom I’ve been fascinated to see ever since her devilish live TV appearance with Ben Elton. Her delivery style verges on the manic, leaping all over the stage, contorting her legs into unusual positions like a wannabe ballerina on speed. Most of her material stems from her life as a transgender woman, and it’s both incredibly emotional and unabashedly hilarious. What primarily comes through is her honesty; she’s outrageous but she’s truthful, unpredictable but, above all, very, very funny. We loved her witty song about being coeliac – as is Mrs Chrisparkle, so we both felt her pain – and she provided the perfect conclusion to a brilliant night of comedy.

Next Comedy Crate at the Bradlaugh is on 13th March – sadly, we can’t make it, but you should!

Review – Screaming Blue Murder, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 25th January 2025

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Having been banished from the stages of the Royal and Derngate more effectively than a bunch of Faithfuls picking on themselves, how rewarding it is to see Screaming Blue Murder back in the hallowed portals of the Royal Theatre after such a long time, with a fittingly large and buzzing audience to welcome it. When regular host Dan Evans bounded on stage to galvanise us all into attention, a little voice in the back of my head sang Hello Danny, well hello Danny, it’s so nice to have you back where you belong. Please don’t ever send Screaming Blue Murder back to the dreaded Screen 2. It makes no sense!

Dan was on unsurprisingly blistering form as he (and we) got to know Tommy, the unenthusiastic Royal Mail recruiter, a triumvirate of front row Petes, an uninhibited Nana celebrating her 50th birthday, and sensible Kelsey with her hench Physical Trainer boyfriend. If the Royal has one fault, on a cold winter night the wind can whip off that stage into the audience, but Dan was able to keep us warmer than our massed ranks of gilets and duffel coats.

First up, and someone we’ve seen many times before, was the pride of Wolverhampton, Susan Murray. With oodles of attack, she regaled us with tales of her Glaswegian parents, the secrets of the menopause, and fully justified disdain of President Trump (2.0). Northampton audiences rarely go for political comedy in a big way, and Saturday’s crowd was no different. Nevertheless, she has a remarkable ability to generate big energy, and all her observations are on point and hilarious. An excellent start to the evening.

Next, and new to us, came Bennett Kavanagh, a self-confessed middle-class single gentleman, with an electronic keyboard slung over his shoulder like an outsized manbag. Beautifully self-deprecating, he uses the instrument not only for some comedy songs, but also for its jingle potential. I loved his routine about lift music, the perils of not having Spotify Premium, and how you can use the Windows chords in awkward moments. Terrific timing, an intriguingly funny stage persona, and with some brilliant material, he had us howling throughout.

Our headliner was Joey Page, who has a mischievous way of making sure we know his socials are JoeyPageComedy, and who trades on his slightly unusual physical presence for maximum comic effect. He has great insight into the laughter potential of the British class system, and his idea of being Upper Working Class is an eye-opener. He has the measure of a Northampton audience, teasing us with our Cultural Quarter, and guessing that no one comes here unless you’re born here; it’s true, the game’s up. Admirably verbally dextrous, he delivers his very clever and inventive material that makes you think as well as makes you laugh, and he went down a storm.

Best Screaming Blue Murder for a very long time. The show returns to the Royal (hurrah!) on 27th February. Book now for a great night out!

Review – Comedy Crate at the Charles Bradlaugh, Northampton, 17th January 2025

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What’s this? Haven’t we already had a Comedy Crate session at the Bradlaugh this month? Yes indeed – but those nice people at the CC kindly arranged a bonus night out in January. The venue was totally packed – if you believe there’s no demand for comedy in January, think again!

Our host for the evening was Russell Arathoon, a jovial cove who reminded me of how a drag artist would host a comedy show if they weren’t in drag – if that makes any sense. Immensely cheeky and saucy, he was quickly pulled up by a group of three ladies for mispronouncing the name of the venue (not to mention the fact that he later said we were in Nottingham). He also had plenty of fun teasing the work outing from the paper and cardboard company and the Take That tribute act in the front row. Sometimes a little near the knuckle, but extremely likeable and animated, so the evening flowed like a dream.

Our first act was the sensational Scott Bennett, who delivers his inventive and original material with deft ease and wonderful confidence. He has such great observations on long-term marriage, what children can do to a car, and why he’s stopped going to the “by hand” car wash. Extremely funny and natural, as well as being very generous with his time which flew by. An expert of his genre.

Unusually, we had two acts for our second segment, both new to us, younger comedians who are obviously developing their craft. First up was Abbie Edwards, who projects a slightly neurotic persona of a young person who’s lead a sheltered past, juggling a Christian upbringing with the sheer joy of discovering sex. Very nicely paced and with good confidence. She was followed by Osman Shibli,who has a strong likeable stage presence and brings entertaining observations on his unusual Pakistani/Qatari/British heritage. Both acts need to firm up on stronger punchlines and nail them more decisively, but, let’s face it, Mr Bennett was always going to be a very tough act to follow. They both acquitted themselves extremely well and can look towards a good future!

Our headliner was Ian Stone, an act who has been around a good while, which makes it even more surprising that we’ve never seen him before. Much of his material is based on the fact that he is Jewish, which he tackles head on, no holds barred, daring to say the things that only he can. Amongst his gems are some great material about his wayward dad, and the secret to forming a credible opinion on any subject. He’s a complete master of his art, and, frankly, I laughed so much that it hurt.

Double portions of Comedy Crate comedy in January! The next gig at the Bradlaugh is on 13th February, with another amazing lineup. Go on, you know it makes sense; at £13 quid a ticket it’s the best value comedy in town.

P. S. No names, no pack drill, but it’s very antisocial to get the vapes out in a comedy club. It’s not big and it’s not clever. If it happens again, there’ll be trouble.

Review – The Comedy Crate, Charles Bradlaugh, Northampton, 9th January 2025

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A great line up for the first Comedy Crate of the year at the Bradlaugh, and despite the nipping and eagerly cold night, a packed house of comedy devotees had an amazing time. Our host for the night was the warm and friendly Paul Revill, no stranger to this stage, who went about his task of getting to know the audience with his usual attack and merriment. He explored the possibilities of Hi-Vis bedroom antics, ascertained the most popular Quality Street amongst the audience, and spent the evening trying to work out in which field reticent third-row Leon was an expert. This was a burning question that was never truly answered, but Mr R kept everything moving and provided a delightful conduit between us and the three comedians sitting at the back.

None of the acts was new to us, so we already knew we were in for a great night. First up was Michelle Shaughnessy, emigrated from Canada three years ago without ever having set foot in the UK before – was it a wise move? She tells us about breaking up with her husband, her subsequent dating experiences and the benefits of sugar daddies, all with a marvellously confiding style, stringing us along with solid comedy material before delivering a hilariously unexpected punchline. Tremendously confident and assured, this is smart and clever comedy of the highest order.

Second up was Gbemi Oladipo, whom we last saw a few months ago in front of a very small audience where he worked his socks off to make an impact. Now, with a bigger, fully engrossed audience, he hit the ground running with some wonderfully daring material which, in the hands of a lesser mortal, could have sunk without trace; but Mr O has quickly become a true master of delivering bold, race-themed comedy, where you never feel uncomfortable because you’re always laughing your heart out. I wasn’t expecting him to touch politics, but his Kemi Badenoch material is fantastic! I also loved how including him on a recruitment panel backfired, the horrors of finding his mother’s sex manual, and why you should only have white male pilots on a plane. Everyone adored him and we can’t wait to see him again.

Our headliner was the inestimable Hal Cruttenden, whom we last saw in Edinburgh where he created a show based on the horrors of his recent divorce. Three years on, and he hasn’t been backward in coming forward going on new dates, which he tells us about with his irrepressible relish. He also reflects on how the world today is most definitely not what it was, which sounds like it would be a downer, but Mr C can make a shopping list funny. Fearing for the future of democracy, he sympathises with any young people in the audience (not that there were many of those!) His insight into why young people of today couldn’t be called up to go to war is brilliant, and one can only admire his self-awareness as to where he falls in the spectrum of a woman’s sequence of lovers, if I can express it that way. He ended his set with a hilarious story of what happened when he performed comedy to a group of young soldiers safely removed from Afghanistan, with all the death and destruction they would have seen. Doesn’t sound like comedy material – but in the hands of an expert like Mr C, it truly is.

A fantastic way to start the comedy year, and there is a bonus Bradlaugh night next Friday, 17th January – can’t wait!