Articles

Comedy greats come to Devizes

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 09:18:36 +0100

By Barney Goodall

Just part of the legacy that the Moonrakers myth offers Wiltshire is the Moonrakers comedy club in Devizes, the very town in which the event supposedly took place.

The Cellar Bar of the Bear Hotel will bear witness to many amusing characters this winter; indeed, Thursday November 1 sees three comics cracking the boards, sadly only metaphorically. At 8.30pm speech will commence, followed by laughter. Joey Page takes off with his unrelenting, amphetamines induced act, flying concord style into your ears. Spritely, contritely young Mr. Patrick Morris will then leap to the stage to unravel amusing, substantial threads from the depreciated tapestry of contemporary youth culture.

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, hookers and gigolos, enter Sol Bernstein. His reanimated corpse giving the impression of an ever bemused Jewish man out of 1950s New York, equipped with a rapid-fire splurge of #notsureifyou’rebeinginsulted lines to throw at everyone and everything.

The Thursday, December 6 session gives punters the pleasure of Matt Richardson, another glowingly reviewed, youthful anthropomorphism who has performed with Russell Kane, and oozes self deprecating self confidence. Indeed, oozing is a subject rarely far away when Tash Bartlett strolls onto the stage. Her show, 'The girl your mother warned you about' being fairly reflective of everything vaginal or laughing and weeping simultaneously. She's an awkwardly amusing West Country girl who shares this honour with Chippenham lad Will Hodgson. He sums up the self aware irony of the moonrakers myth with an intelligently derisive and reticent analysis of the Westlands, and this is exactly why he ends the night. Enjoy!

The monthly comedy night at Shush Night Club in Wantage

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 15:19:00 +0100

Regular readers of this weirdly named magazine should know that we’re all big fans of stand-up comedy here at Castle Ocelot.

So you can imagine how over the moon we were to hear of a regular comedy night that’s taking place in Wantage.

The Comedy Club is held at Shush in Regent Mall and it’s held on the first Friday of every month. This month’s will be held on Friday July 6 and is going to be an absolute corker. The night involves three top comedians, who change each show, and the doors open at 8pm with the gig starting at 9pm. It’s even followed by a night club until 2am afterwards. Tickets are £10 in advance or £12 on the door. Visit http://www.shush.fm for more info.

The Free Ocelot Comedy Night

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 11:55:59 +0100

We didn’t hold a comedy night in June because of our big birthday bash but we’re back with a bang this month.

On Monday July 2 all you comedy addicts should head on down to The Vic in Old Town, Swindon for The Free Ocelot Comedy Night.

This month we’ve got four comedians and a compere.

There’s two up-and-coming open spot comedians Dai Davies and Barry Ferns.

First on will be Johnny Cats who has a huge arsenal of impersonations and headlining will be the brilliantly monikered Jonny Awsum, a Chuckle Club alumni with an explosive set (not literally we hope).

Compering this fine evening will be Glaswegian comedian Larry Dean. Anyway the doors open at 8pm with the comedians starting at 9pm. This is usually a packed evening so get there early to get a seat.

To win a bottle of bubbly this month be the first to say ‘Ocelot’ when the compere says ‘bonkers’. See you there!

An interview with Tom Stade!!!

Tue, 08 May 2012 16:24:00 +0100

Canadian comedian Tom Stade will be playing at Glee Club Oxford on Wednesday 16 May.

Dave Freak caught up with him for a chat....

It's 2pm, and if Tom Stade sounds like he's just got out of bed ... that's because he has. "Sorry for the croaky voice, I had a late night," he wheezes. "I had a great show, and then we went on ‘til three in the morning.”

It seems such partying is a regular occurrence for the touring Tom.

"I like to party with my fans ... what can I say?" he laughs. "It is something I like to do. I always thought that if I’d seen someone, that I’d like to meet them after the show, and most of the time, you can’t do that. So I like to meet a few people, have my picture taken with them and have a beer."

But there is an element of work to the post-show partying as Tom uses such informal socials to gauge how the show went, and even road-test a few new gags.

"They have a good idea of what they like, of what’s funny,” he says of his fans, “whereas my wife is too critical. I can’t tell her all the jokes [because] she’s heard them all before. ‘Hey! I heard that one back in 1994!’ So I find their opinions ... valuable. Sometimes it’s like a whole extra show at the end of the real show ... like DVD extras, but in the theatre bar."

Hailing from Canada, Tom moved to Bilston, Wolverhampton, to pursue stand-up, using the central location to jaunt across the UK. He's since relocated with his wife and children to Edinburgh , and made the move into TV with selective spots on such shows as Live at the Apollo, Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, and Frankie Boyle's much vilified Tramadol Nights, which earned him a co-writing credit.

"The Frankie Boyle thing was amazing. I’m still mind-blown by that experience," he cries, now fully awake though still hoarse. But when it comes to making decisions about TV, it’s always family first.

"It’s a lot of work, writing for TV if you’re married with kids. The kids are only young for so long, and I’d rather be with them, watching them grow up, if I’m not on the road, touring," Tom says. "If something comes around in the future, I’ll take a look at it, I’d do it if it’s right, but not at this moment in time.

“I like doing little TV spots on other people’s shows - it’s easy, you just turn up and do it. Writing for TV is a long process – you’re in a room with bunch of other writers for seven days a week, eight hours a day. It’s not coal mining, but it is one of the harder jobs in this business."

With his current tour extended until July to meet demands, Tom sees the dates as training for his first, big DVD release – due at the end of the year.

"I’m making sure I know what jokes I want to use and get myself match fit," he says, clearly excited by the prospect of recording his own release.

"This is pretty amazing. I’m more blown away by this than anything I’ve done. This is something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. I wanted to do comedy, and did it, and I’ve never really wanted anything that bad after that. There has been some great things, but everything else has just been gravy, you know? But this? A DVD! I’m going to be in HMV, my kids will see it, they’ll think I’m a god! Who wouldn’t want this? I’ll be next to Pearl Jam in the racks. And I know I will be right next to Pearl Jam ... because I’m going to put my DVDs right next to ‘em!"

Show: Tom Stade - Live

Date: Wednesday 16 May 2012

Doors: 6.45pm

Venue: The Glee Club, 3 Hythe Bridge Street, Oxford, OX1 2EW

Box Office: 0871 472 0400 http://www.glee.co.uk/oxford

Admission: £15 (£13 NUS)

Seann Walsh comes to Glee!

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:33:36 +0100

Seann Walsh will be appearing at Glee Club, Oxford on Friday May 4.

Seann is a regular on Channel 4's Stand Up for the Week and he's also appeared on Live at the Apollo, amongst many others. Seann reckons his current tour, which began in January, is going very well indeed. "I did one bad show where I only did four encores ... it’s 29 encores usually. People were bringing fireworks and letting them off, there were standing ovations, sometimes people were crying and cheering as I walked on stage, just with expectation! It’s quite a religious experience ..."

He’s supported by Romesh Ranganathan, who once smashed it at The Ocelot Comedy Night. It kicks off at 7pm and tickets cost £11 (£5 NUS) from 0871 472 0400 or http://www.glee.co.uk/oxford

The Moonrakers Comedy Club

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:33:04 +0100

Fancy a bit of a laugh in the Devizes area on Thursday May 3?

No. Okay then. Urm. Right. I'll get my coat then.

But if you had said 'yes' I might have been able to tell you about The Moonrakers Comedy Club being held at The Bell by the Green?

Ah, now you're interested. Good. Well, this comedy night will be a laugh riot from start to finish. Your MC for the evening is the brilliantly hilarious local lad Martin Brown.

Martin will be joined by none other than the excellent Ian Cognito.

Mr Cognito is one of the best comics on the national circuit, a veteran who clearly knows what he’s doing as he spits his darkly humorous vitriol over an unsuspecting crowd. Outspoken, opinionated, and totally clued up, this man’s take on the world will have you convinced and convulsed (with laughter).

Tickets cost £8 in advance and £10 on the door. Call 01380 723746 or visit http://www.wegottickets.com to book tickets in advance. Visit http://www.moonrakerscomedy.com for more information.

Rhod Gilbert preview show at Arlington Arts in Newbury

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:28:06 +0100

If you're quick about it you might be able to grab tickets for an exclusive Rhod Gilbert preview show being held at Arlington Arts Centre in Newbury on Wednesday March 21 at 8pm!

The tickets cost £15 and are available by calling 01635 244246 or from the website at http://www.arlingtonarts.co.uk

For one night only, don’t miss welsh comedy sensation Rhod Gilbert in a new show previewing material for his forthcoming tour. He has performed twice on Live At The Apollo – most recently as a host, headlined Michael Mcintyre’s Comedy Roadshow, hosted Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Have I Got News For You?, appeared on The Royal Variety Performance, made regular appearances on panel shows 8 out of 10 Cats and Would I Lie To You? and hosted two series of Ask Rhod Gilbert for BBC One.

This is a rare opportunity to see one of the leading UK comedians in intimate surroundings.

“ONE OF THE BEST COMEDIANS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD” Time Out

“IN COMIC TERMS HE LOOKS INDOMITABLE” Guardian

“COMEDY MANNA FROM HEAVEN” Independent

“A JOY TO BEHOLD" Times

http://www.rhodgilbertcomedian.com

The Free Ocelot Comedy Night at The Vic in Swindon

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0100

March’s Ocelot Comedy Night takes place on Monday March 5. We’ve got four comedians. They are: headliner ROGER MONKHOUSE, one of the most original and distinctive acts on the comedy scene. A consummate stand-up who employs a deadly combination of charm and menace to exert a masterful control over any audience. A highly original and quirky performer, Roger's trademark stage-prowling style and curious, inimitable manner have established him as one of the hottest names on the comedy circuit. Then there’s two newcomers PAUL LAIGHT and ROB CALLAGHAN in the open spots. But first on will be NOEL JAMES, who is like a human gag machine but ‘gag’ as in joke not as in choke. The compere will be CHRIS PURCHASE who will be whipping the audience into a frenzy but not with an actual whip. This is all subject to change as things happen. Anyway to win a bottle of bubbly this month be the first to say ‘Ocelot’ when the compere says ‘Strumpets’. Doors open at 8pm and it starts at 9pm. Get there early to get a seat.