Man of a thousand noises Michael Winslow from the Police Academy movies is appearing at Just the Tonic tonight and tomorrow. Dunno about you, but as a child of the 80s, I find that rather exciting. It's not often you get to witness an actual Hollywood star making funny noises for your entertainment in a small room in Leicester.
Supporting are Rob Rouse, whose superlative storytelling ability is itself worth buying a ticket for, and Gareth Richards, who will entertain you with funny songs and reassure you that the world will not end this year. What a nice man.
Tickets are £14, as usual go to http://www.justthetonic.com/leicester-comedy/ to get one. I'm pretty sure this will be a gig to remember...
Live in Leicester? Like live comedy?
Well you've come to the right place then. Well done you.
Peril: Design for Comedy and the creative arts
Friday, 23 March 2012
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Reminder - FREE Comedy at Just the Tonic tonight!
I know you're all horrendously busy and will already have forgotten my post about the free nights on Wednesdays at Just the Tonic, so here I am to pester you further! It's Big Value Comedy Showcase auditions time, and if you book your tickets online you will get to watch a plethora of funny folk competing for a spot at the Edinburgh Festival tonight FOR FREE!
It costs £2.50 on the door, so to save yourself precisely that amount, get thyself to http://www.justthetonic.com/Leicester-comedy/shows/wednesday-21-mar-2012/681/
Your ticket also gets you into the nightclub for free afterwards, which is great if you don't have a job to get up for in the morning!
It costs £2.50 on the door, so to save yourself precisely that amount, get thyself to http://www.justthetonic.com/Leicester-comedy/shows/wednesday-21-mar-2012/681/
Your ticket also gets you into the nightclub for free afterwards, which is great if you don't have a job to get up for in the morning!
Andrew Lawrence... you know, the funny looking ginger guy with the squeaky voice
Those of you who have never heard of Andrew Lawrence, you're in for a treat! Seeing him for the first time is a real experience to remember, because I guarantee you've never seen or heard anything like him before. And once you've heard his extended rants, self-deprecation and too-much-information honesty, you'll definitely want to see him again*
He's widely acknowledged as a unique talent in stand-up and has been tipped for greatness for some time now. His last tour was called 'Too Ugly for TV', a reference to the fact that he hasn't had nearly enough mainstream exposure to match the glowing praise which is regularly heaped upon him. Obviously this gives him an extra level of bitterness to explore in his routines, and believe me he's at his best when he's being bitter!
Sticking with that theme, he's bringing his 'Best Kept Secret in Comedy' tour to Embrace Arts, Lancaster Road on Saturday 21st April, so I strongly suggest you get yourself a ticket and experience this unique performer for yourself by going to https://uk.patronbase.com/_EmbraceArts/Productions/W104/Performances
*Terms and conditions apply. Enjoyment of comedy down to personal taste - Leicester Comedy Scene is not responsible for ensuring you enjoy the gig, nor will we be held liable for any injury, swelling or death resulting from recommendations or opinions contained within this blog. May contain nuts.
He's widely acknowledged as a unique talent in stand-up and has been tipped for greatness for some time now. His last tour was called 'Too Ugly for TV', a reference to the fact that he hasn't had nearly enough mainstream exposure to match the glowing praise which is regularly heaped upon him. Obviously this gives him an extra level of bitterness to explore in his routines, and believe me he's at his best when he's being bitter!
Sticking with that theme, he's bringing his 'Best Kept Secret in Comedy' tour to Embrace Arts, Lancaster Road on Saturday 21st April, so I strongly suggest you get yourself a ticket and experience this unique performer for yourself by going to https://uk.patronbase.com/_EmbraceArts/Productions/W104/Performances
*Terms and conditions apply. Enjoyment of comedy down to personal taste - Leicester Comedy Scene is not responsible for ensuring you enjoy the gig, nor will we be held liable for any injury, swelling or death resulting from recommendations or opinions contained within this blog. May contain nuts.
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Stewart Lee at DMH - Mercury review
Here's my official Leicester Mercury review of Stewart Lee's show at DeMontfort Hall last Thursday (the review appeared in yesterday's paper):
http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/Lee-relishing-time-spotlight/story-15557963-detail/story.html
http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/Lee-relishing-time-spotlight/story-15557963-detail/story.html
Spoiler Alert! Daniel Kitson previews Edinburgh show
Reasons I Love Leicester, Number 47: I've been able to see stand-ups of the quality of Stewart Lee and Daniel Kitson within a week of each other, both within a couple of miles of where I eat, sleep and poo... AND Doug Stanhope's coming up very soon... AND it's not even Comedy Festival season any more! This city is clearly a hotspot for quality comedy right now, and Mr Kitson obviously felt as many others do, that Leicester was a good place to test out his latest Edinburgh Festival show, which he did to a very appreciative Just the Tonic audience last night.
This was something of a mock exam for his new show, and Kitson clearly needed to be able to concentrate to get through the entire 2-hour show without an interval. He brought notes with him which he referred to infrequently, stammered more during sections of the show he was less comfortable with and did not tolerate distractions from the audience. Hence the bar was closed during the performance and latecomers were warned in advance that they would not be admitted.
If all of this sounds like the opposite of a good time, it was more than balanced out by the quality of the material, and by the fact that you were seeing one of stand-up's greatest talents up close, in your home town, for a fiver. It would have been £12 according to Kitson, but there was no trademark life-affirming story arc to this show - it was more like a series of amusing musings on the nature of life, love and beards, delivered with a contrasting mixture of eye-opening insght, self-deprecating honesty and occasional feigned arrogance.
The opening section addressed his drastic change of appearance - freshly shorn of hair and beard, he explained how he was becoming too easily categorisable by his appearance (glasses and a beard - you must own a micro-brewery!). He also railed against the current comedy boom (don't hold your breath for a DVD release any time soon) and celebrated acts of defiance and those who swim against the current in all walks of life.
As it went on, the show became more anecdotal, as Kitson shared with us stories of unrequited love and pig-decapitation amongst other things. The themes of the night were loosely tied together at the end of the show, but not in a terribly satisfactory way - one senses he'll be doing some work on the ending before taking the show to Edinburgh in August.
All in all though, it was a very enjoyable two hours spent in the company of a master of his craft. It's difficult not to admire his intelligence and invention, and it's difficult not to respect the way he stays true to his art and refuses to let himself become popular, mainstream or commodified. True, the show in its current form was was rough and unfinished, but I for one will be seeking out the finished article if I make it up to Edinburgh this year.
This was something of a mock exam for his new show, and Kitson clearly needed to be able to concentrate to get through the entire 2-hour show without an interval. He brought notes with him which he referred to infrequently, stammered more during sections of the show he was less comfortable with and did not tolerate distractions from the audience. Hence the bar was closed during the performance and latecomers were warned in advance that they would not be admitted.
If all of this sounds like the opposite of a good time, it was more than balanced out by the quality of the material, and by the fact that you were seeing one of stand-up's greatest talents up close, in your home town, for a fiver. It would have been £12 according to Kitson, but there was no trademark life-affirming story arc to this show - it was more like a series of amusing musings on the nature of life, love and beards, delivered with a contrasting mixture of eye-opening insght, self-deprecating honesty and occasional feigned arrogance.
The opening section addressed his drastic change of appearance - freshly shorn of hair and beard, he explained how he was becoming too easily categorisable by his appearance (glasses and a beard - you must own a micro-brewery!). He also railed against the current comedy boom (don't hold your breath for a DVD release any time soon) and celebrated acts of defiance and those who swim against the current in all walks of life.
As it went on, the show became more anecdotal, as Kitson shared with us stories of unrequited love and pig-decapitation amongst other things. The themes of the night were loosely tied together at the end of the show, but not in a terribly satisfactory way - one senses he'll be doing some work on the ending before taking the show to Edinburgh in August.
All in all though, it was a very enjoyable two hours spent in the company of a master of his craft. It's difficult not to admire his intelligence and invention, and it's difficult not to respect the way he stays true to his art and refuses to let himself become popular, mainstream or commodified. True, the show in its current form was was rough and unfinished, but I for one will be seeking out the finished article if I make it up to Edinburgh this year.
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