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

Posted on September 25, 2023 by therealchrisparkle

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

Posted on September 15, 2023 by therealchrisparkle

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 – Harry Stachini and Emmanuel Sonubi – Edinburgh Previews – The Comedy Crate at the Lamplighter, Northampton, 24th July 2023

Posted on July 26, 2023 by therealchrisparkle

Another night, another Edinburgh Preview show. This time we relocated to the Lamplighter pub which has an excellent downstairs stage area and works very well as a comedy venue. There had been a relatively late change of cast for the lineup for this show, as is often the case with Edinburgh Previews, but fortunately those nice people at the Comedy Crate have a wealth of comedy contacts up their sleeve, so you never need worry that you’ll be shortchanged!

Our first act was a new name to us, Harry Stachini, preparing his new Edinburgh show, Grenade. He’s a thoroughly likeable young chap with an engaging personality and his show is an easy-going, happy, laughter-filled hour centred on the notion that we all have a grenade in our lives on which we ought to pull the pin. For him, it was his long-term relationship with Jess (and their dog); for others it could be your job, your health worries, your relationship, or anything. Fascinating that the dog knew they were splitting up before either Harry or Jess did! The show also brings in several comedy nuggets such as his parents’ relationship, teachers’ experiences of dealing with difficult kids, and a dreadful secret that the Virgin Mary might not have kept from Joseph. Mr Stachini is a naturally funny guy, has great material – although, as with nearly all the comedians we have seen over these previews, he knows he needs to get a proper ending sorted! This will be a very good show when it gets to Edinburgh.

After the interval it was time for our relatively last minute change to the advertised programme, Emmanuel Sonubi, previewing his Edinburgh Show Curriculum Vitae. We saw Emmanuel on his first Edinburgh show last year, Emancipated, a very enjoyable romp through his life and times. Now he has a new show, full of brand new material, which also tells the story of his life and times but just from a slightly different perspective! He’s able to get a lot of comic mileage out of his larger than life physical presence, which he can either use to be intimidating, or to play the coquette, which is even funnier – stop looking at my magnificent triceps, stop, honestly, what are you like?! I loved his material about banging gym and wetting you up – who knew? – and he incorporates themes from his time in various careers including being a bouncer, musical theatre and working in IT. Very effective and funny use of music to open and end the show, and there’s loads of laughs in his act as a faux-humble man – you’ll just have to see his show to appreciate it. There’s not much here that needs tightening up for Edinburgh, and he went down a storm at the Lamplighter.

That’s me done for Edinburgh Previews for this year – the main event is looming north of the border in a week’s time. But there are still a few more Comedy Crate shows coming up over the next week or so!

Review – Jo Caulfield and Paul Sinha – Edinburgh Previews – The Comedy Crate at the Northampton Town Centre Hotel, 22nd July 2023

Posted on July 24, 2023 by therealchrisparkle

It only seems like a moment ago that we were at that town centre hotel in Northampton, inventively named the Northampton Town Centre Hotel (I kid you not) to see Gareth Mutch and Tom Stade wow us with their Edinburgh Previews. And we were back there again on Saturday night to see Jo Caulfield and Paul Sinha do the same! Such is the appeal of both the artists and the event that they held two shows on that day – a 5pm teatime affair and an 8pm grown up’s gig – although I’m sure the material was pretty much the same for both shows. That said, you can’t be sure; as these are Work in Progress shows, they might have risked a few lines at 5pm that bombed and were never heard of again – as indeed might have happened at the 8pm show. Basically, you can look on these shows as a helping hand for the comedians whacking their show into shape, and a serving suggestion for the audience as to what the final product might look like.

We started off with Jo Caulfield, a very experienced performer in the world of comedy, preparing her new Edinburgh show, Razor-Sharp. Checking back, I think this will be the 21^st time that she’s taken a show to Edinburgh, so I think it’s safe to say she knows what she’s doing – she’s as much part of the place as Arthur’s Seat itself. She admits that all her shows are basically her catching up on ideas and reactions to things that have happened to her over the past twelve months, so you always get a sense of a very personal connection with her material. And much of her material is inspired by the life and times of her husband, of whom I think it is fair to say, she is lovingly critical. She has a hilarious routine about going along to what her husband calls “a night out with the lads” much to their (the lads) uniform horror. Even though it’s a WIP, she’s assured, polished, and superbly caustic. For my own taste, occasionally I find she drifts into the almost cruel with some of her observations, but she does it so nicely that she gets away with it! She also gave a reading from her new book The Funny Thing About Death which I think was in preparation for an appearance at the Book Festival. It doesn’t dovetail into her Edinburgh show but hopefully it helped her decide on which passages she should read there. But if you’re a fan of Jo Caulfield then her new show will definitely be one to watch.

After the interval we welcomed Paul Sinha, previewing his Edinburgh Show Pauly Bengali. We’ve seen Paul Sinha many times before and his is one of the most creative and telling comedy brains on the circuit. This show was like a game of two halves; in the first, we had some of Paul’s classic takes on being a gay Asian with Parkinson’s and his affiliation (or otherwise) with leafy Luton, and in the second, he concentrated on his experience with attending last year’s TRIC awards and his interaction, for want of a better word, with the awards’ sponsor, the one and only GB News. Proudly woke (and why wouldn’t you be?) he’s no friend of KGB News, and there are loads of comedy nuggets to appreciate including why he’s not on Mark Dolan’s Christmas Card list – and probably not Adrian Edmondson’s either. One thing you can say about Paul Sinha, he’s always delightfully indiscreet about people who don’t come up his standard. He has plenty of good words to say about Milo McCabe though – again, why wouldn’t you? Interspersed with all this he gives us some comedy songs on the bontempi and ends up with a comic assassination of someone I’d never heard of but who has clearly been stealing his jokes – which is always a no-no in the comedy world. It needs a little more shaping up and editing but I’ve no doubt that Pauly Bengali will be a big success in Edinburgh.

And there’s more to come – another Edinburgh Preview tonight at The Lamplighter; we’ll be there, will you?

Review – Gareth Mutch and Tom Stade – Edinburgh Previews – The Comedy Crate at the Northampton Town Centre Hotel, 13th July 2023

Posted on July 14, 2023 by therealchrisparkle

Hot on the heels of last weekend’s mammoth and super-successful Comedy Crate Weekender, we’re down for three more evenings of Edinburgh Previews this month, starting with Gareth Mutch and Tom Stade at the newly branded Northampton Town Centre Hotel (that’s the old Park Inn if you’re still working in pounds, shillings and pence). Whilst you couldn’t say that the room where the show took place was glamorous – and indeed our two performers started their acts by acknowledging as much – it is functional, comfortable, and adjacent to a good bar and excellent toilets so you can’t say fairer than that.

First up was Gareth Mutch – a name new to me, preparing for his Edinburgh show Belter. He’s a big, likeable lad, nicely self-deprecating about his self-confessed “odd” shape, and he uses his relaxed story-telling style to deliver some fun material about someone he met on a train and a creepy front-row comedy club fan. Very much in Preview territory – as he would be the first to admit – so not every punch landed, possibly because we were an older demographic than he is targeting. He’s great at setting up a rapport with the audience and found just the one fellow vaper – good old Balpreet. He has excellent material concerning vaping, by the way, all of which was fresh and fun and which I can’t remember hearing mentioned by another comic, so it’s a good subject to develop! An enjoyable and entertaining hour which I’m sure will grow into an excellent Fringe show.

After the interval it was time for Tom Stade, previewing his Edinburgh Show Natural Born Killer. It’s to my shame that I’ve never seen Tom Stade before and boy, have I been missing out. Few comics can aspire to his clearly innate ability to be funny from the very start. I know it’s a cliché, but the man could stand on the stage and read a shopping list and it would be hilarious. There’s very little brushing-up required to make this show Fringe-perfect; he has an amazing rapport with the crowd, chatting with many of us including me (that’s Chris, 63) and my father-in-law aka Lord Prosecco, Bill, 80.) I mention the ages because it’s a vital part of this show – setting yourself in your formative decade and never growing up afterwards. He has brilliant material about the words you can and cannot use today – and it’s not in a GB News-type right-wing moany way but in an incredibly inventive, challenging way that sees the funny side of it all. Packed with superb observations, terrific asides, and way more than a laugh a minute. Can’t wait to see him again!

More Edinburgh Previews ahead – we’ve just booked to see Paul Sinha and Jo Caulfield on Saturday, should be great!

Review – The Comedy Crate Weekender, Northampton, 8th & 9th July 2023

Posted on July 10, 2023 by therealchrisparkle

Correct me if I’m wrong, gentle reader, but it’s six years since the Comedy Crate held their first weekend festival hosting Edinburgh Preview acts for the pleasure of Northampton audiences. It’s also the first year that Mrs Chrisparkle and I have been able to be present for both days – and it really is an incredible bargain – £40 buys you ten shows from a choice of twenty-five. Your comedy dollar stretches a long way here. 25 acts, 3 venues and loads of laughs. Everyone’s experience will be different, depending on their choices of shows – but here’s what we got up to!

Saturday 8^th July

2 pm – Chloe Petts: If You Can’t Say Anything Nice (Black Prince)

I’d heard a lot about Chloe Petts, so was naturally intrigued to see for myself! And her new show is a very enjoyable hour where she examines how she’s a nice person but nevertheless she has anger issues. She’s clearly naturally funny, with an engaging persona even if at time she tries to deliberately put you against her – for example, I loved how she singled out “men who sit in the front row at comedy gigs” as being the worst of the worst, but she also says she hates her own fans – but with a fair justification. I loved her routines about therapists and football, and she has some brilliant material about catching the bouquet at a wedding. Still work in progress, as all these shows are, and it needs a little tightening up and refinement, but I’m sure this will be one to watch when it comes to the Pleasance Courtyard Edinburgh.

3.30 pm – Matt Bragg: Has Nothing Wrong With Him (Black Prince)

We’d seen Matt Bragg once before when he did a ten-minute slot in an otherwise car crash of a show at the Leicester Comedy Festival in 2019 and I picked him out then as One To Watch. Now preparing his debut tour, I can certainly agree with the title that Matt Bragg has absolutely nothing wrong with him at all, in fact this was a tremendously fluid, confident, and extremely funny hour. Mr Bragg’s accent puts you in mind of a younger Frank Skinner and the two bear fair comparison. Extremely engaging and likeable, he puts a fresh angle on some familiar themes, incorporating some excellent callbacks. I loved the story of the Japanese hating Grandad, and the idea of the type of people who name their wedding tables after places they’ve been on holiday – so true. To be honest, if you’re going to include a story about Auschwitz in a comedy routine it’s vital to nail it devastatingly, and that wasn’t quite there yet; the show also needs a stronger ending, but that will come. This isn’t an Edinburgh preview as such, although he is part of an Edinburgh mixed bill line-up that will definitely be worth seeing. I’m predicting Mr Bragg will go from strength to strength and be a big name in the future.

5 pm – Darren Harriott: Roadman (Charles Bradlaugh)

Much to my surprise this was the first time we’d seen Darren Harriott, although he already has a great reputation for stand up. Another very likeable and engaging personality, he has a relaxed but confident way about him that instantly puts you at ease and ensures you’re in for a good time. He explains how he has moved on from being a Roadman (Urban Dictionary is your friend) to being the real him. He also tells us about the ikkk – I think that’s the right spelling – which is the moment that you know that the person you’ve met has just turned you off bigtime for a minor etiquette transgression; look forward to one of the best callbacks of all time. He has some very enjoyable material about his experience on Celebrity Mastermind and why he is satisfied it will never get repeated on TV. When all his comedy ideas have gelled together this will doubtless be an Edinburgh hit at the Pleasance Courtyard in August.

7 pm – Thomas Green: End of Daze (Charles Bradlaugh)

A last minute replacement, Thomas Green is new to me although he’s been on the comedy scene for a few years now, and his show End of Daze, although not going to Edinburgh, is touring the country from September. And if you’re going to see the show, you’re in a for a treat. He’s an outstanding comedian, hugely likeable, a superb communicator, deftly incorporating all the little elements that an audience throws at him, and we didn’t stop laughing the entire hour. The show is based on his Australian upbringing within a very controlling and strict church and how he eventually broke free and became a teacher in Nottingham (where else?) Mrs C was brought up in Australia, and also knows a lot about the church there so there was lots to recognise. There are some lovely moments, like the first time he saw snow (?) and the first time he saw a radiator! Absolutely loved this show and will definitely seek him out in the future. Highly recommended! Book tickets for his tour here.

8.30 pm – Josh Pugh: Existin’ La Vida Loca (Lamplighter)

Purely as an aside, you can’t beat Josh Pugh for coming up with inventive titles for his shows! Battling the extreme heat of the upstairs room at the Lamplighter, which Mr Pugh would be the first to agree was not the most conducive environment to enjoying comedy, he nevertheless treated us to some terrific comedy ideas that will go to form his new show which is scheduled to be a Work in Progress when it reaches the Monkey Barrel in Edinburgh for the early part of the Fringe. Josh is a terrific wordsmith and always brings new observations to familiar situations. His new show is about coping with all the stresses and strains of life now that he and his wife have a young child in the mix. Early days for this Work in Progress but I have no doubt that this will be another cracker on the way.

Sunday 9^th July

2 pm – Mark Simmons: New Jokes (Charles Bradlaugh)

I’m a real sucker for Mark Simmons’ brand of comedy – rapid one liners, but delivered at a gentle pace. Trying out all sorts of new material for his Edinburgh show at the Liquid Room, what makes him so effective a comic is the brilliant contrast between his charmingly mild-mannered appearance and delivery and the sometimes savage content of his punchlines. There’s plenty of new examples of this in his new show, which of course I won’t spoil for you, but if you’re a fan of his previous work you’ll certainly love the new stuff. It’s not to everyone’s taste – one gentleman left early, much to the surprise of everyone else in the room, apart from Mark himself, who was kindness itself in accepting that his style isn’t for everyone. Shame – he missed out on some terrific stuff! When Mark’s decided on the final bunch of new jokes for Edinburgh, it’s going to be a blast!

3.30 pm – Ian Smith: Crushing (Charles Bradlaugh)

We’ve seen Ian Smith twice before, so I knew we were going to be in for a good time with his new show, Crushing, which he’s taking to the Tron (Monkey Barrel Comedy) in Edinburgh this year. Ostensibly about going with his hairdresser to smash a car up in Slovakia and watch it crushed by a tank – but there’s lots more to it than that. It’s a very funny collection of routines that are largely based on the idea of stress-busting solutions, plus the problems in life that create the stress in the first place. Mr Smith has a quirky, unpredictable style; there’s a sequence, for example, where he hosts the show from a spare seat in the audience. My favourite part was the story of the aggrieved employee in a vineyard who wrought a very protracted revenge on his employers. Loads of excellent comic ideas here, with a very strong delivery. It still lacks an ending, but as Mr Smith himself said, he still has three weeks….

5 pm – Matt Forde: Inside No 10 (Black Prince)

It’s been a terrible sin of omission, but is the first time we’ve seen Matt Forde, even though he has an outstanding reputation for impersonations and political comedy (of which we’re very fond.) He hits the ground running straight away with a comic assassination of Rishi Sunak (fully deserved, imho), and he weaves loads of other political figures into his narrative. I really enjoyed his bumbling, pompous Sir Lindsay Hoyle, his pinch-voiced Keir Starmer, his bewildered Hamza Yusuf, and his quietly manipulative Mick Lynch. Topical, gritty and pulling no punches on any side of the political spectrum, I didn’t think Northampton audiences normally responded particularly well to political stand up in the past, but this was an exception. He’s still working out which elements of this work in progress show will end up in his Inside No 10 show at Pleasance Courtyard next month, but he’s got a lot to choose from!

7 pm – Nabil Abdulrashid: The Purple Pill (Black Prince)

I’ve not seen Nabil Abdulrashid before and I wanted to see him on the strength of his appearance on Have I Got News For You a few weeks ago, where I thought he was devastatingly funny. There’s no denying he’s a big chap, which leads to a commanding presence on stage. His Edinburgh show description about The Purple Pill (Pleasance Courtyard) is that it is a “show about trying to be a good person while staying a badman.” I’m not sure that really reflects the material he delivered at this Preview, which I felt more concentrated on his family life, coping with two very different daughters, and needing to protect them from the big bad world outside, as well as his own mental health issues – no real detail there, except that he feels he has them, and has a lot of them. He’s a terrific wordsmith, with a tremendous lightness of verbal touch – he has a beautiful sensitivity to the nuances of the language. Occasionally challenging, particularly on the topic of latent racism, and it’s refreshing to hear about life from the point of view of a Muslim Nigerian in Croydon! Plenty of work still to do here, but I’m sure he’ll nail it.

8.30 pm – Abandoman: Future Fest (Black Prince)

I really ought to learn my lesson not to put my hand up in an Abandoman show. I did it at his Preview show last year – and ended up on stage; and I did it again this year, ending up on stage and dragging poor Mrs Chrisparkle into the show as well. Fortunately my fellow Abandoman victims – I mean stage participants – did outstandingly well! The thing about Abandoman is that he is so unthreatening, completely puts you at your ease whilst you’re up there, that you should never be wary of taking part in one of his incredible musical experiences. In Future Fest, (Underbelly, George Square) he poses just three or four questions to the audience, and if you feel you’ve got an appropriate answer, he’ll give you a little interview on stage and then convert all the material you’ve provided into a hilarious rap song. He must have the most extraordinarily flexible brain and memory, and I can only assume that no two Abandoman shows are ever the same. A brilliant way to end a superb weekend of comedy – and a massive thanks to the Comedy Crate team for organising it so splendidly and seamlessly.

There are more Comedy Crate Edinburgh Previews coming up over the rest of July – we’re next up for Tom Stade and Gareth Mutch at the Park Inn on Thursday – see you there!

Review – Comedy Crate at the Waterside, University of Northampton, 21st March 2023

Posted on March 22, 2023 by therealchrisparkle

A new venue for us, the Waterside Bar and Restaurant at Northampton University, and it’s a very welcoming environment. Great sightlines, excellent well-priced wine and a friendly atmosphere. Of course, what can make or break a comedy gig is the subtle blend of venue and audience; and, on last night’s experience, the right blend just wasn’t there. We knew for a fact (they told us many times!) that the acts were expecting a much more studenty crowd than the demographic who had bought tickets; representing the students, there were only wannabe sports coach Jake (19) and his unnamed girlfriend (20) present. The rest of us were of indeterminate older age! Maybe, because it was held at the university, some of the regular Comedy Crate crowd didn’t feel that it was the right venue for them and so stayed away. <RANT>But comedy is comedy, gang! You can have just as good a laugh at a uni venue as you can in a pub or theatre. So have the confidence to book tickets! </RANT>

All four comics plying their trade last night were new to us – something that very rarely happens nowadays, so that gave the evening an additional frisson (for us anyway). Our host was Ross Smith – and a very capable pair of hands he is too. Very welcoming, he instantly put us at ease as he delved into the private lives of those in the second and third rows (including us). Often, when you get targeted by a comic to answer lots of personal questions, something inside you clams up and you just wish they’d go away. Not so with Mr Smith; he has a very engaging personality that invites you to open up and tell things to a perfect stranger (indeed a room full of them) that you wouldn’t normally. He controlled the evening with a true lightness of touch, he’s clearly got a quick comic brain, and I’d really like to see him do a longer set. So far, so good.

Our first act was Michael Mannion, and I can’t pretend it went well. Thrown a) by the fact that we weren’t students and b) from the lukewarm response he received to his opening material, he lost his way somewhat and found it difficult to get back on track. I felt that he sensed that his set was going worse than it actually was, which was an early punch in the stomach of his confidence. He self-deprecates before we’ve had a chance to assess whether he deserves to, describing himself as a c*** several times, too early into the act and without real justification. As a result, when he actually asks the audience at one stage, don’t you think I’m a c***? which, presumably, most student audiences do, we were left thinking no you’re not, just a well brought-up nice young man, in a slightly patronising way. His act is very much based on his appearance and personality rather than its verbal content, and there just weren’t enough well-delivered punchlines for the act to go better. Oh, and, no Michael, we weren’t all 100 years old, despite your muttering it!

Things took a terrific turn for the better with our middle act, Jacob Nussey. A very dour, wry persona, with a quiet but totally authoritative delivery, the audience quickly attuned to his material and pace. He had some wonderful observations about working for Amazon, and a brilliant sequence about casual racism which really turned the subject on its head. Self-deprecating in just the right way and extremely funny. He was perfect for this gig, as all his observations and material were relatable to people of all ages.

Our headliner was Erika Ehler, with a larger-than-life personality and terrific stage presence, but she too was sideswiped by the lack of students in the audience. She has some great material and delivers it with style and conviction, but the majority of it didn’t land. After a while she started to tell us that we wouldn’t like her next lot of material because we were the wrong audience for it; and she was right! A shame because I’m sure under different circumstances she would be a big hit.

The key to success for comedy at this venue is to get more bums on seats! We can’t make the next gig here, on 18^th April, but you should – Ross Smith hosting again, and Josh Pugh is topping the bill. Should be great!

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

Posted on March 10, 2023 by therealchrisparkle

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

Posted on February 10, 2023 by therealchrisparkle

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 9^th – you ought to come along!

Review – Comedy Crate at the Charles Bradlaugh, Northampton, 12th January 2023

Posted on January 13, 2023 by therealchrisparkle

First comedy gig of the year and a sell out night at the Bradlaugh for what turned out to be an excellent night of laughter courtesy of the Comedy Crate. Our MC for the evening was Stephen Carlin, who nicely uses his slightly dour Scottish persona to good advantage, and is excellent at riffing off the crowd with whatever fascinating nuggets they reveal. There was plenty of mileage to be gained from Darren, the audience’s self-appointed Witchfinder General, Chris, who wouldn’t take his coat off, and the wrongly-accused-of-being-a-fascist, Holly. He had some great material about climate change and drugtaking, and took great control of the evening.

Our first act, and new to us, was Jacob Hawley, a likeable London lad with an attacking, slightly in-your-face style, living with the joy of having a lockdown baby because creating her was the only thing he and his partner could do in 2020. The crowd gave him lots to work with, including having some better lines than himself, which he was happy to acknowledge! He has a great sequence about being asked to do a most unconventional gig at a Drive-In Movie, and does a brilliant impersonation of a lapdog. Very entertaining – he will be returning to the Bradlaugh for a longer gig in April.

Next up was Kate Martin, whom we had relatively recently seen at the same venue as she was a contestant (if that’s the right word) in the Northampton heat of The British Comedian of the Year. She is so sure-footed on stage, and you sense that nothing could faze her. As before, the majority of her material is based on either her height or her sexuality, and on both counts she’s not backward in coming forward. Nicely self-deprecating, which helps her to set up a brilliant rapport with the audience, and, despite having heard some of the material only a few months ago, we loved every minute.

Our headline act, and someone we’ve enjoyed seeing a few times, was Nathan Caton. He opened with an inspired callback to one of Stephen Carlin’s lines, which set us up for a great set. Recently married, he had some brilliant material about the costs of a wedding, faux-resentment about his mother re-marrying, and I loved his observations about now living in a middle-class area and wearing middle-class clothes. He is so quick-witted, and he nails every comic observation so that they hit home. All killers and no fillers, as someone once said. A great way to end the night.

There’s another gig at the Bradlaugh on February 9^th – you should come!

The Real Chrisparkle

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