Tag Archives: Charles Bradlaugh

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!

Review – Comedy Crate at the Charles Bradlaugh, Northampton, 14th March 2024

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Another great fun night at the Charles Bradlaugh Northampton courtesy of those nice people at the Comedy Crate. You can tell the gig is going well because the show had been sold out for quite some time, and the vibe amongst the audience is always excited and fully confident of a good night ahead.

Our host for the evening was the excellent Will Duggan, who hits the ground running with his cheeky repartee and is a master of the audience-based callback. Any material he gathers from the front few rows at the beginning of the evening will inevitably return with a smart comic twist at some point later on. He got to know (as did we all, by association) Sarah the blood machine seller, Amabel whose parents couldn’t spell Annabel, and Kempton and Michael the roving school caretakers. Mr D kept the evening moving at a cracking pace and it was always a pleasure to enjoy his entr’actes.

First up was Mark Bittlestone; at first I thought he was new to us but I remembered seeing him four years ago doing a work in progress show at the Leicester Comedy Festival with comedy partner Haydn Jenkins, and they were a very entertaining combo. Mark appears to be doing more solo work now and he has a very assured and fluid style, but his only subject material was his sexuality, and after a while you rather wish he could move on and talk about something else! He occasionally adopts a strange accent (I think to suggest sarcasm) that personally I found rather alienating. That said, he had plenty of good material – the Yorkshire porn star routine is hilarious – and a warm connection with the audience, and he gave us an enjoyable start to the evening.

Next came Don Biswas, whom we saw at the Edinburgh Fringe last year; he wastes no time in explaining about his dyspraxia, autism and ADHD, all of which he uses wisely in creating some blisteringly funny observations and beautifully delivered one-liners. Through his comedy he really allows us to see inside his world, from his anger at world politics to his frustrations at still living at home aged 39. His winning persona is always upbeat and he builds a terrific rapport with the audience. As the young people of today might say – nailed it, mate.

Our headliner was Jen Brister, whom I was surprised to realise we haven’t seen since 2013, and she has grown into a complete superstar in the art of stand-up. Like Don Biswas before her, you see directly into her life, with superbly recognisable accounts of a 49-year-old woman’s experiences, and brilliant observations about getting older, and the ignominies and horrors of the menopause. All this to put up with, but she can’t quite yet cope with having to wear varifocals. We all laughed our heads off all the time she was on. It was one of those comedy sets where you go home feeling you have a better understanding of the human condition – and loads of laughs got you there.

Rob Auton at the Bradlaugh next week – we can’t go, but you should!

Review – Comedy Crate Thursday Night at the Charles Bradlaugh, Northampton, 8th February 2024

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It’s another regular Thursday night at the Bradlaugh and a full house to boot, which always oomphs the atmosphere up a bit. For this month’s extravaganza those nice people at the Comedy Crate booked a terrific line up of comedians, two of which we’d seen before and two whose faces were as fresh as daisies (to us, anyway.)

Our host for the evening was Tom Toal, whom we last saw in the very same venue eleven months ago providing the very same service! And he’s a true master of the art. As well as getting to know key members of the audience, such as the two M&S food auditors (nice work if you can get it), reticent front row James, pirate Tariq and university lecturer Marco, he also told us about his unexpected new best friend and the joys of seeing women’s football at Charlton Athletic. A very safe pair of hands, he kept the evening moving at an excellent pace and contributed much more to our enjoyment than your average MC.

We hit the ground running on a total high with our first act, Lindsey Santoro, who never fails to delight with her bold but completely recognisable material. She’s one of those comedians who tackles those areas where angels fear to tread – why she is a failed lesbian, everything you wanted to know about breast feeding but were afraid to ask, and ending with a riotous sequence about smear tests. Her great trick is to appeal directly to the women in the audience with her choice of topics, whilst never alienating the men because it’s all so understandable and relatable. She has an immensely likeable stage presence and kicked the night off like a dream.

Our second act, and new to us, was Jack Skipper; very well-known, I understand, in TikTok circles, which is something of which I know nothing. He has a great story about being recognised from his online work whilst doing his old day job of carpet fitting – one of the best in Croydon and its environs, according to Trustpilot. He has an easy way about him and is very engaging with his entertaining material, including his plans to take revenge on his children in the future, and he’s excellent when relating the highs and lows of co-existing with his workmates. I thought that perhaps his set could have been a little more finely structured so that he ended it on a high; the last five minutes or so just slowed down to a gently ambling conclusion. But there’s a lot of great material there.

Our headliner, and also new to us, was Dan Tiernan; and if you enjoy your comedy with a laid back, relaxed, sophisticated style, Dan’s not your man. He’s dyspraxic, and not afraid to exploit it for every possible comedic opportunity. As a result, he spends most of his time on stage thumping and jumping around like a naughty ten-year-old who’s had way too much sugar before bedtime; but it does also make you think that maybe that imaginary ten-year-old isn’t really naughty – he has dyspraxia. Lurking behind that frenetic exterior is a wealth of fantastic material and some of his lines are absolute killers – I especially liked his explanation for why watching porn has ruined him. He doesn’t appeal to everyone, but if you like his style, you’ll love his act.

Plenty more Comedy Crate gigs coming up in the next few weeks – sadly, we can’t manage some of them but we’re looking forward to the next Bradlaugh night on 14th March!

Review – Comedy Crate at the Charles Bradlaugh, Northampton, 11th January 2024

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It’s a welcome back to the Comedy Crate for their first gig of the new year at the Charles Bradlaugh. January is seen as an iffy month for comedy, but there was an almost full house of comedy-goers itching for their first show of the year. We had seen all the acts before but knew them to be top quality – as the evening proved.

Our host was the Pride of Northampton, Pete Teckman, who got us warmed up by discovering comedy nuggets from the crowd, including the front row newbies who looked far too young to be married 22 years and to have six children. We also met the man who kept introducing his friends as his family, and Jordan who tags along with couple George and Jodie, but they all seem happy with the arrangement. There was also Chris, who might get a proposal from his girlfriend this leap year but isn’t sure if he wanted the government to be involved. As Pete pointed out, they never come and make a bedroom inspection afterwards.

First up was Rachel Fairburn, whom we’d last seen inducing a medical emergency with material about serial killers at a Screaming Blue Murder night. Fortunately Ms Fairburn left that routine out, and instead treated us to some excellent material about the complexities of being working class with middle class friends, the pros and cons of Oliver Bonas and a fantasy throuple with an ex-Home Secretary and a BBC Sports Presenter. She has a sharp, perceptive presence on stage and delivers her material with an engaging perkiness and lovely timing. A great start to the evening.

Next up was the gently neurotic Jamie D’Souza, a man of eclectic heritage with a very nicely underplayed style. He’s delightfully self-deprecating, with tales of sharing a house with his gay housemate and his relationship with his girlfriend – that’s Jamie’s relationship, not his housemate’s – bringing out seemingly insignificant moments and making great comedy material out of them. I also really like his deliberate and careful use of language that sets you up to expect one thing, then delivers another. Clearly a very funny man.

Our headliner was Aurie Styla, who burst onto the comic scene as an “internet viral sensation” about seven years ago and has gone from strength to strength with his confident, engaging presence and relatable material. He talks about his current transatlantic relationship with his New York based girlfriend, who wonders if they should settle in Luton – and there are too many reasons why this is not a good idea, as Mr S explains. He also has some great material about what life is like as a comic on a cruise ship – and the Comedy Crate crowd is the perfect age group to appreciate that! He sets up a great rapport with the audience and his energy never falters throughout his act. A fitting end to a superb night of comedy.

The next comedy night at the Bradlaugh is a Work in Progress show with Jessica Fostekew, and it’s been ten years since we last saw her, so that should be great!

Review – Christmas Comedy Crate at the Charles Bradlaugh, Northampton, 21st December 2023

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Christmas Comedy Crate gigs are like buses – you don’t get any all year round and then two come along within a week of each other! A super packed house at the Charles Bradlaugh had a brilliant night of it with not four but five funny people to send us into the Festive Season with thoroughly tickled ribs.

Our MC for the night was Paul Revill, and he is totally ace at the job. He has a warm and reassuring style that lulls you into telling him all the things he wants to know and then turns them around into fantastic comedy. Poor 18-year-old Seb was centre front row and found himself the subject of a lot of attention; and I loved Paul’s comedic response to discovering that an audience member worked for Specsavers. Whether it’s comparing favourite Quality Streets or deciding which part of the body will give the love, he keeps the whole thing moving at a cracking pace and made us all feel completely at home.

Our first act was Josh Pugh, always an unpredictable, sparky comic presence, with a lovely sense of the ridiculous and a misleadingly accomplished delivery. He has great material about being a new father, and excellent observations about the attitude progression from parent to grandparent – and everything he says is absolutely true. He sets up a great relationship with the audience and you know from the start you’re going to have a great time in his company. A superb way to start the evening.

A slightly different structure to this show, we then had two comedians after the first interval, and both were new to us. First up was Nuala Ryan, a slightly more mature pocket rocket of a comedian, with an appealing likeable presence and some good material about relationships as you grow older – or the lack of them. Thoroughly entertaining and lots to laugh at!

Next was Jin Hao Li, a remarkable new find in the comedy world; a young man with a softly surreal approach to his material, incredibly quirky, deceptively benign and with the ability to twist a story in a totally unexpected direction at the turn of a hat. Unsettling at first, but once you get his drift, he’s completely hilarious.

Our headliner was Matt Richardson, who hits the ground running with a sequence of great comic material about married life and parenting. He has terrific routines about men dealing with tampons and no longer being able to decide for themselves what time they go to bed, and they’re hilarious in both their inventiveness and their accuracy. To be fair, he did give us quite a lot of the same material as the last time we saw him, but it’s so good it’s always worth a re-run!

Thanks to the Crate team for bringing so much comedy to Northampton and its environs, and we look forward to another jam-packed year of laughter in 2024!

Review – The Comedy Crate Presents Troy Hawke Work in Progress, The Charles Bradlaugh, Northampton, 24th September 2023

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Where would comedians be without the opportunity to present a Work in Progress show? The chance to try out some new material with a willing, eager audience who let you know just how funny you’ve been by the volume of their laughter – or indeed by the silence of their response. Troy Hawke had already taken a new jumble of comic ideas to this year’s Edinburgh Fringe for a few nights to sort the wheat from the chaff, in preparation for next year’s no doubt bumper blockbuster show. And on Sunday night he visited the humble folk of Northampton to give us a sneaky peek into what he’s got up his satin sleeve.

Troy Hawke is well on his way to becoming a national treasure, if he isn’t already there. Elegantly decked out en smoking, he embodies that terrific comic ability to combine refinement and poise with unexpectedly cracking punchlines, or varying his delivery from sophisticated Surrey to excitable Scouse. He effortlessly gets to know a few members of the audience, confiding in them, complimenting them (if appropriate), and, perhaps surprisingly, eliciting one couple’s safe word –  yellow! (which, alarmingly, was the colour of his shirt).

The nub of his new show concerns small talk – what it really means, how it happens, and how to cope with having to do it. On the way we meet football legends Jan Molby and Jack Grealish, gain an insight into scrabble scores and discover what Troy really thinks of psychiatrists. As you might expect, there’s a good dollop of Greeters’ Guild anecdotes, as he spreads what can only be described as pure Troy outside a TK Maxx. He still needs to work up a proper ending – which is almost always a common theme with WIP progress shows – but it was a brilliant hour packed with comedy gold.

Review – The Comedy Crate at the Charles Bradlaugh, Northampton, 14th September 2023

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It’s back for another big dollop of laughter at the Charles Bradlaugh, courtesy of those nice people at the Comedy Crate. It’s always exciting when all the acts are new to us, because the evening becomes a smorgasbord of unexpected delights. Our host for the evening was Alex Farrow, a smart super-confident chap who quickly gains a terrific rapport with the audience, and quickly elicited the fact that we were all rich beyond the dreams of avarice – well, it may have seemed that way at least.But there can’t be that many people who have access to two yachts! Very quick witted, he bounced off all the comedy nuggets that the audience gave him, and kept the show moving at an enjoyably fast pace. I made a note in my brain that we must catch his full solo show one day.

First up was Steve Hall, whose material is firmly based on his family life with his no-nonsense wife and two delightful children, who have discovered the art of homemade tattoos.There are lots of very recognisable family-based comic observations, many of which are illustrated with pictures including life from his own childhood as well as his own kids. If this sounds a little cosy, it’s peppered with many surprisingly sharp moments and there’s lots of big laugh-out-loud punchlines. An excellent start to the evening.

Next came Kathryn Mather who has wisely moved on from being a children’s entertainer. She has a nicely awkward stage persona and an excellent use of self-deprecation, talking about her lack of success with men and some entertaining stories about trying to attract the opposite sex. We hear about her (slightly predictable) encounter with the Dreamboys, and the perils of speed dating. From the sound of the laughter there was lots for women to recognise, if not quite so much for the guys. But she went down very well with the audience.

Our headliner act, and someone whose career we will definitely follow with interest, was Sarah Keyworth, a naturally funny comedian who mines comedy gold from her appearance and sexuality in an effortlessly hilarious way. She delivered not only the best pronouns gag out there, but also the best definition of non-binary, which had us all in hysterics. She has a marvellous running thread about being in a lesbian foursome, including the obligations one would feel about being the perfect host whilst entertaining three other women, and a brilliant sequence about inviting a male stripper to a hen party in a caravan in Devon. She completely blew us away with her superb audience interaction – occasionally checking in with second-row John to make sure it was going ok – and pinpoint perfect material. Another excellent night of comedy.

Review – Comedy Crate at the Charles Bradlaugh, Northampton, 9th March 2023

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Hurrah for another packed house upstairs at the Bradlaugh to see the next Comedy Crate extravaganza – with Tom Toal hosting three great acts for us all to enjoy. Tom was excellent at getting to know everyone in the front few rows, including regular updates on how Gemma’s mum was doing (not well apparently), the green suit man who’s into pet insurance, and all the girls who work at Giggle Café. He’s got a bright and lively style about him and put us all at our ease to enjoy the show.

Unusually for us, all three acts were new to us, so that made for a fascinating evening of comedy! First up was Finlay Christie, a 23-year-old self-styled posh boy, with a set all about being a young Generation Z chap. I loved his material about seeking out older women for a relationship and his observations on the class system. He’s a terrific comedy craftsman, with a superb ability to hold our attention. His final joke (and an incredibly funny one) took a long time to deliver with lots of vital pauses and silences; many a comic would have had the crowd growing restless under such circumstances, but he had wound us around his little finger and were glued to our seats to hear the punchline. This young man will go far, Mark My Words.

Next up was Ricky Balshaw, a naturally funny guy whose act centres on his life with cerebral palsy, and he’s not afraid to go into detail. Some of that material can be a little hard to take, but it’s his life and his reality, so if anyone is entitled to address it – it’s him! Blessed with excellent comic timing he has an excruciating tale about diarrhoea which had the entire audience squirming in hilarity. Good comedy should sometimes challenge the audience – and this was very good comedy.

Our headliner was Helen Bauer, who had the audience in the palm of her hand from the word Go, with terrific material from the point of view of an assertive woman, including her conclusions about Supersize v Superskinny, how life changes at 30, why German is sexy, and the incremental benefits of drinking three bottles of wine at a sitting. Full of attack, and with observations that never fail to hit home, she had us in hysterics the whole time. Apparently, she is returning for the Comedy Crate’s Summer Festival – where she will be a must-see.

Our next Comedy Crate gig will be at the Waterside Bar on the University of Northampton Campus in a couple of weeks – looking forward to it!

Review – Comedy Crate at the Charles Bradlaugh, Northampton, 9th February 2023

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Another sell-out crowd upstairs at the Bradlaugh to see the latest serving of comedy from those nice people at the Comedy Crate. Our host for the evening was Will Duggan, an amiable chap who sets up a great rapport with the audience, mining the audience for golden nuggets that can be used later; and, as an audience we didn’t disappoint. There were Ed and San-D, who couldn’t remember how many times they’d got married;there was Mark with the dashing moustache who looked like he’d floated in on the nearest gondola; and peppered around the room were more administrators than you can shake a stick at. Will kept the action going splendidly and prepared us all for a great night.

First up, and someone who we’ve seen once before and really enjoyed, was Michael Fabbri, who wastes no time getting straight in with the funny, class-based observations, like to what extent do you trust a pilot with a working-class accent, or how do you react to overheard conversations in a campsite. He did his routine about not being able to find the door in a hotel room, which we’d heard before but is always worth a re-run. He has a very funny sequence about watching a guy at night at his bedroom window, and what happens when you have to resort to pretending to sneeze. Absolutely brilliant material, all told with disarming charm and wicked timing. Superb!

Our second act, and someone new to us, was Sam Nicoresti, who takes us on his journey of sexual- and gender-identity discovery which is intriguing and enlightening if not always laugh-a-minute. I enjoyed their conclusion that they’re gender queer even though they’re not sure what that means, and I loved their material about scattering ashes at Cleethorpes (not to be recommended, by the sound of it). They also have a great solution for how to overcome the current indifference towards the Royal Family. Entertaining and enjoyable, I reckon the belly laughs will come in due course with increased confidence.

Our headliner, and a fairly late replacement to the advertised programme, was Colin Hoult in his persona as… Colin Hoult, having only known him before as the amazing Anna Mann, winner of last year’s Chrisparkle Award for Best of the Rest in Edinburgh. Colin is returning to old-fashioned stand up, and judging by last night’s performance it’s going to be a winner. From his opening gambit that all men should call each other babe (I might try it this weekend) through an examination of his family background and the characteristics of that multi-faceted bunch of people, he has brilliant comic observations about class and behaviour which he weaves into a constant conversation with the audience. He has this amazing ability to connect with each of us individually, so that it feels like a private meeting; I guess it’s that sense of genuine sincerity in everything he says. He has a terrific sequence about using Ouija boards – and I was truly surprised at how many members of the audience have done it! If you enjoy Anna, you’ll recognise her lurking not too far beneath Colin’s surface, but it’s none the worse for that! A terrific end to the evening.

Our next meetup with the Comedy Crate at the Bradlaugh is on March 9th – you ought to come along!