Comedy: Digging For Pearls

Those small gigs with big stars are still around … if you go to them

Everyone must be so looking forward to this Thursday. Yes, Thursdays herald in almost the beginning of the weekend, but this Thursday in particular is one marked in my diary for at least the past month as a chance to see a number of my favourite comedians all on one stage, and it’s one of the smallest ones in Brighton’s happy comedy scene. Yup, I’m only talking about March’s Gittins To Know You, Brian Gittins’ monthly but for the most part overlooked show in which he features sets from some of the biggest names in comedy he’s come across – as well as open spots sourced locally – and it’s on at Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar.

I, for one, am guilty of looking at past line-ups and just not going to Gittins To Know You, because I’ve decided that I’ve left it too late to get tickets and that with a set list like this the evening will naturally be sold out from way back. I’m talking headline names like Al Murray, Harry Hill and more. People who easily sell out several nights in a row at the Theatre Royal Brighton on their own. But, I had been reliably informed, I wasn’t always right. Lots of others had come to the same incorrect conclusion that I had, meaning that I could have got hold of a ticket on the night. Let my loss be a lesson to everyone. Live comedy needs people to check, in order for us to continue to have these marvellous shows on our doorstep.

This month’s headliner is the incomparable Nick Helm. Currently on our tellyboxes with a second series of BBC3’s sitcom Uncle, as well as a number of other TV projects “in the works”, where do you think those magic ideas and brilliant songs come from? Thin air? It’s these smaller gigs that breathe life into material that goes on to entertain millions. Stewart Lee’s recent visit to town at the Brighton Dome’s Concert Hall was honestly billed as having material prepared ahead of his forthcoming series of Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle. It makes us a part of the magical comedy process.
Nick’s not alone though. Also on the Gittins To Know You bill are Ed Aczel, Mae Martin and – of course – our host Brian Gittins. Plus, as the poster refers to them, ‘Brian’s Naughty Open Spots’.

The first time I saw Brian I’m sorry to say he grated on me like nothing else. The second time I stole myself for his set, as he was on a bill I otherwise adored, and found that despite myself I was roaring with laughter and had been won over utterly. He’s so unlike anyone else on the comedy circuit that it can take you by surprise, but once the groove is got it’s well worth opening your mind just that little bit more than usual. Brain Gittins is a gem and an assault from the core of your funny bone.
Gittins to Know You, Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar, Thursday 12 March, 7.30pm, £8