Of course, if I just left it at that, it would constitute a massive cop-out on my part. So here for your delectation and rumination, I present the first of my festival preview posts, in which I take the intimidatingly vast hog-roast that is Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival and chop it up into easily-digestible bacon-bites for you (facon bites for veggies, obviously) I'll be looking at a different category of comedy in each post - today I present some of my favourite offbeat stand-ups.
We all know about the Milton Joneses, Russell Kanes and Al Murrays of this world, but what about some of the slightly lesser known stand-ups appearing at the festival, who offer something a bit different to the standard telly comics? The more live comedy I see, the more I realise it possesses limitless potential for entertainment. Starting from the simple formula of one person with a microphone, the inventive comedian can take us in any one of an infinite number of directions.
Take Edward Aczel (above)- a dull office worker about whom nothing is intrinsically funny, talking about some very dull subjects in a rather shambolic way - yet somehow this combination ends up being hilarious and seeing him hailed by The Guardian as "Britain's greatest living anti-comedian".
Simon Munnery has been around since the early nineties, when he used to collaborate with the likes of Lee & Herring and Kevin Eldon, and experienced a reasonable amount of TV exposure with his characters Alan Parker - Urban Warrior and The League Against Tedium. His stand-up these days is gentle, intelligent, displays a very unusual way of looking at the world and is definitely worth seeing.
Another comic displaying an intelligent brand of stand-up is Chris Stokes. Originally from the West Midlands but now living right here in Leicester (he knows where it's at, y'all), his unassuming, geeky persona coupled with some very smart gags and storytelling make for a very rewarding experience. And despite the intelligence and geek-friendly references in his material, he's very accessible and has the potential to be massive. He's performing his show An Opera Written on Napkins (awarded Best Show, Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival 2012) and a new show Stray Talking at this year's fest.
Simon Munnery has been around since the early nineties, when he used to collaborate with the likes of Lee & Herring and Kevin Eldon, and experienced a reasonable amount of TV exposure with his characters Alan Parker - Urban Warrior and The League Against Tedium. His stand-up these days is gentle, intelligent, displays a very unusual way of looking at the world and is definitely worth seeing.
Another comic displaying an intelligent brand of stand-up is Chris Stokes. Originally from the West Midlands but now living right here in Leicester (he knows where it's at, y'all), his unassuming, geeky persona coupled with some very smart gags and storytelling make for a very rewarding experience. And despite the intelligence and geek-friendly references in his material, he's very accessible and has the potential to be massive. He's performing his show An Opera Written on Napkins (awarded Best Show, Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival 2012) and a new show Stray Talking at this year's fest.
David Trent (above) is another off-the-wall act who is rapidly gaining cult status. His home-made multimedia mashup of a show got rave reviews in Edinburgh, being described by Chortle as like "TV Burp if Harry Hill was on PCP" (I can't help thinking of Fist of Fun when I hear that kind of comparison), giving it four stars - highly impressive for a debut show. I think the best thing to do as far as Trent is concerned, is to point you towards his three-minute Fast Fringe appearance, which he used very inventively as an advert for his show. The first time I saw it I got goosebumps of excitement - definitely one to watch.
I had never seen Liam Mullone until a few months ago, when a friend texted me on a Sunday morning to say he was doing an Edinburgh preview show that afternoon at The Guildhall of all places. In that most unlikely of settings, we were treated to an hour of sublime observations and intelligent misanthropic social comment, with just enough flashes of wrongness to break up the beard-scratching with some proper belly-laughs.
Soon after that, I trekked with the same friend to see a whole day of Edinburgh preview shows in Derby. One of the standout acts on the day was Markus Birdman (above), who came across as a tremendously likeable fellow, as he talked us through his past indescretions, his recent brush with serious illness and what it has taught him about life, but without ever becoming too morbid or preachy. Looking forward to seeing him again.
You may have seen Nick Helm popping up with a few musical numbers on Live at the Electric on BBC3. Needless to say his act does contain songs, but it so much more than that - in fact it's unlike anything else you're likely to see. He shouts a lot, he sweats profusely, he bullies members of the audience, he reveals his darkest inner thoughts, and ultimately just wants to be hugged. A dangerous, unpredictable mix and one that you are unlikely to forget in a hurry - for example, the last time I went to see him I ended up on stage in a pink poncho, ringing a little pink bell, tap-dancing on bubble-wrap. Yes that did actually happen.
Anyway, in order to prevent this post going on forever, I'll stop there. Obviously there are many more stand-ups I could recommend - Michael J Dolan, Pat Cahill, Doc Brown, Rob Deering, Bridget Christie, Henning Wehn, Matt Hollins, Diane Spencer, Scott Bennett, Daniel Simonsen etc etc... but of course all of this is just one man's opinion (me, in case you were wondering), and don't forget there are plenty of acts appearing that I can't comment on because I've never seen them before! So my advice is to spend an evening on YouTube with a copy of the festival brochure handy, and see which ones tickle your unique funny bone. I'll be back with another preview post very soon...
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