Comedy: Brighton Fringe
Brighton Fringe is just around the corner, and there’s a lot on offer for comedy fans! Just a few highlights here…
We’ve all seen the brochures around town for this year’s Brighton Fringe, sporting its marvellous globular planet of music, dance and who knows what else on the cover, but with pages of shows to pick from – and May fast approaching – what are the best shows to see?
Clearly it’s always worth taking a punt on a random show you like the look of. After all, that’s what having a Fringe is all about. But there are a few shows worth dropping into your diary and some gems worth booking tickets for now.
Chief amongst these gems are a couple of local fundraisers. The BOAT Benefit Zincbar (23 May, Brighton Spiegeltent, £15) promises a return to a vintage comedy night favourite, with a mixture of acts from the good old days and some more contemporary ones. The line-up is hush hush but it’s for the Brighton Open Air Theatre project, which hopefully will be next year’s latest new venue for the Fringe.
The second is Kevin Eldon And Some Colleagues, taking over Brighthelm Church & Community Centre (17 May) for the afternoon in aid of The Neuro Foundation. With a featured comics list including John Kearns, Ed Aczel and Benny Boot as well as the titular Kevin Eldon, this event will be worth every penny.
Another way to enjoy Brighton Fringe is to tuck into the free smorgasbord of shows. Every weekend afternoon the Caroline Of Brunswick is showing Luisa Omielan’s current work in progress Am I Right Ladies?!, as she tries out new material off the back of her breakthrough hit What Would Beyoncé Do?. An hour of high energy comedy, all for the cost of a contribution to the jangling bucket at the end of the show.
Perfectly Goddamned Delightful – a new show from local comics Pete Strong and Dan Fardell – mixes stand up with poetry (The Hobgoblin, 19–20 May, 6.45pm), and another local stand up, James McDonnell’s Family Values (6, 13, 20, 30 May, The Blue Man, 7.30pm) presents joyful and energetic musical comedy. Both shows are from popular Brighton talent.
And if you want your comedy even fresher there’s loads of improvised laughs made up from audience suggestions including Off The Cuff Do The Proverbial (Upstairs At Three And Ten, 3–5, 30 May, 8.30pm, £7), The Maydays: The Last 10 Years (Komedia, 2–3 May, 8pm, £10/8, 31 May 6.30pm), The Noise Next Door’s Comedy Lock-In!
(Komedia, 22 May, 8pm, £10) and The iProv Shuffle 5S (The Dukebox Theatre, 16, 23, 30 May, 6.45pm, £8/6). And there’s lots more all through May! Brighton Fringe, , 01273 917272, www.brightonfringe.org
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