Mostly Promotionly.

is it a cop-out to share the press release I wrote for this month's Mostly Comedy today in lieu of a proper blog post? Yes, it probably is...but when you're tired and preparing to nip off to Bath for a few days to perform at their comedy festival, you're allowed to give yourself a little break.

It's only so much of a cheat anyway as I still wrote it - even if it wound up being a cut-and-shut of various other press releases in the past. I was pleased to see the resulting article is already displayed on the Hertfordshire Mercury, plus we've also managed to shift a few more tickets today, which is presumably as a result of this, so that's good. See below for the press release that inspired it, and then visit www.mostlycomedy.co.uk to book.

----

Press Release – 04.04.16

mostly comedy
a monthly comedy and music club, at the sun hotel in hitchin

21st April’s instalment of Doggett & Ephgrave’s Mostly Comedy sees a variety of familiar faces return to the club, headed by the truly original PHIL KAY.

PHIL first burst on to the comedy circuit in 1989, winning the Edinburgh Fringe Festival competition So You Think You're Funny in its second year. His unpredictable, freestyle approach to live performance led to a Perrier Award nomination in 1993, as well as winning Best Stand-up at the British Comedy Awards in 1994.

He went on to make two series for Channel 4, Phil Kay Feels… and Next Stop, Phil Kay; more recent TV appearances include stints on BBC1’s ‘QI’ and BBC3’s ‘Russell Howard’s Good News’. He is huge on both the comedy and festival circuit, as well as working hard behind the scenes, writing for the likes of Harry Hill, Reeves and Mortimer and Jonathan Ross. In 2013 he published his autobiography The Wholly Viable.

Joining Phil on the bill is another familiar TV face, JAMES REDMOND. James made his name as a model and actor before turning to stand-up, and is best known for his roles in C4's 'Hollyoaks' and BBC1's 'Casualty', and for presenting ITV's 'SM:TV' and 'CD:UK' alongside Cat Deeley. He has also appeared on BBC2's 'Never Mind The Buzzcocks' , C4's 'Celebrity Come Dine With Me', and is a regular on Sky One's 'Soccer A.M.'

Also appearing is Best Newcomer Nominee at the 2012 Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Awards, SAM FLETCHER. Sam is a comic actor, whose credits include BBC2's 'Ideal', BBC3's 'Coming of Age' and Channel 4's 'Shameless' – though it was 'Good on Paper' (his first solo hour at this year's Edinburgh Festival) that caught the critics eye and led to his prestigious nomination; press quotes include 'no other show made me smile so much this year' **** (Independent), and 'another star is born' **** (Metro).

The only comic on the bill who’s never played Mostly before is 2014 ‘So You Think You’re Funny?’ semi-finalist FIONA RIDGEWELL. Fiona has won a number of comedy competitions including 'The Blackout' at Up The Creek (twice) and ‘Beat the Gong’ at the Comedy Store London in December 2014. In May 2015 Fiona was a finalist in 'Jokers Joker'. Most recently, she was a semi finalist in ‘Funny Women 2015’.

The show will be emceed by its organisers, the “polished, natural comedians” (Camden Fringe Voyeur) DOGGETT & EPHGRAVE. It takes place at The Sun Hotel on Thursday 21st April. Tickets are £11.00. Doors open at 7:30pm, with the first act on at 8:00pm Tickets are available in advance via www.mostlycomedy.co.uk.

Date:Thursday 21st April 2016
Venue: The Sun Hotel
Sun Street
Hitchin
Hertfordshire
SG5 1AF
Time: Bar open all day. Doors at 7:30pm. First act on at 8:00pm
Admission: £11.00

Shakerpuppetmaker.

Have Parker from Thunderbirds and Noel Gallagher ever been seen in the same room? The resemblance is uncanny. So much so, I think something’s afoot. If my suspicions are correct, I've stumbled across a secret that will blow the music and puppet industry wide apart. In the mid-60s / mid-90s at least. It doesn’t take long to see the signposts. There’s the similarity between the name of Oasis’ first single, Supersonic, and Supermarianation, Gerry Anderson’s puppetry technique. The Gallagher brothers would often wear Parkas . Live Forever was clearly a reference to Captain Scarlet and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants to the size difference between Noel and his bandmates. The more you think about it, the more brazen it gets. It’s fishier than Area 51, Paul is Dead and JFK's assassination put together. The only glitch to the theory is scale . According to Wikipedia, Anderson’s marionettes were 1’10” and Gallagher is 5’8”. How does he maintain an illusion of avera...

Stevenage: A (Tiny) River Runs Through it.

If ever a river was mis-sold, it’s the Roaring Meg in Stevenage. I just walked past it on my way to the retail park that has taken its name. They’re similarly uninspiring. The river is less of a roar and more of a dribble; cystitis sufferers produce greater flow. The retail park is soulless. What was once a thriving enterprise is nearly devoid of atmosphere, save an underlying essence of emptiness and despair. With a Toys R Us. When it was first built I was excited. Back then, the thought of a bowling alley, an ice rink, a Harvester and a Blockbuster Video within a small surface area was enticing. I celebrated many birthdays on site. There was an indoor cricket pitch there for a while where I once had a joint party with a friend. Why someone with an almost pathological fear of sport would agree to such a venture is beyond me, but I did it. Now, there’s very little at the Roaring Meg of note. The river would be a metaphor for the shopping ce...

Comedy That's Worth a Letch.

Today, I nipped to Letchworth to meet with illustrator (and one-time - two-time - comedy poet) Mushybees, to discuss an event Mostly Comedy will act as surrogate parents to as part of Letchworth’s Arts Takeover in a couple of weeks. Months ago he got into contact to see if we’d be up for co-organising a comedy stage as part of Letchworth’s weekend of arts-based attractions in July; something I’d provisionally said yes to, before things got hectic in the lead-up to Edinburgh and we didn’t take it any further. Despite not getting down to the nitty-gritty straight away, we managed to pull a line-up together in a back-and-forth of emails yesterday, leading to me getting Glyn’s blessing and us deciding we’d officially go ahead with it (whatever ‘officially’ means in this context). In reality, it’s not complicated: from 12pm until 6pm-ish on the 22 nd July, Glyn, Mushybees and I will host four Edinburgh previews from four acts (including me), before Nor...

mostly david ephgrave

Search This Blog