Comedy: Secrets & lies

The little big gigs that no one knows about… yet

This Saturday sees the start of a very important season in the Brighton comedy calendar. Over at The Basement on Saturday you will be able to see critically acclaimed comedian Ed Aczel run through a work in progress of his forthcoming show. That’s a work in progress. Not complete. And all the more fun for it.

Preview season is about to start, running through shows being cobbled and whittled into shape by the big and small names of comedy in readiness for the Brighton Fringe in May and the Edinburgh Fringe in August. It’s a slow trickle of a start, with Brian Gittins continuing his series of monthly Work In Progress free shows at The Caroline Of Brunswick, as well as the monthly new material night Laughable at The Basement, which this month is scheduled to include James Acaster and Iain Stirling, amongst others. Christmas and New Year are over and submissions are going in for fringe shows, comedians and sketch groups are waking up, yawning, and needing a place to try out new material, and now is the time for you to get first dibs on the biggest names.

All I can say is, keep checking the websites for the venues that are loved for previews. The booker from The Caroline Of Brunswick has already squeaked with excitement on social media at the big names they are being offered that should soon be online, and with their track record in the past including Rhod Gilbert, Isy Suttie, Richard Herring, Luisa Omielan, Nick Helm and Henning Wehn, tickets will fly off the website as soon as they’re announced. They’ve even said that they’re being offered comedians who have never played there before, meaning that sky’s the limit.

Otherplace Productions at The Basement also have a brilliant track record with previews of big and rising stars, as does The Old Market.

Yes, these shows aren’t finished, but I have long lauded the magic in seeing a show coming together and the magic of a gag or story being performed for the first time and hitting its mark. Plus, with ticket prices usually being under a tenner, that’s a true bargain to catch before they come back fully formed in October for the Brighton Comedy Festival and a price tag that doesn’t even start at that much.

So log on, tune in and book now. And bag yourself a real treat.

Ed Aczel – the random flapping of a butterfly’s wings (Work In Progress), Saturday 7 February 2015, 7.30pm, £7.50/6/5, www.otherplacebrighton.co.uk

Brian Gittins – Work In Progress, Wednesday 25 February 2015, 8pm, free, carolineofbrunswick.co.uk
theoldmarket.com

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