Comedy: King Gong

Komedia celebrates, and Jimmy Carr comes to town

Hip, hip, hooray! Huge congratulations are due to Komedia this week, as the comedy industry’s flagship awards from Chortle.co.uk regarding 2015 have been announced. Komedia has won the award for best large venue in the South for its Brighton home, as well as Best Large Venue in Wales & the West with its base in Bath. Completing this hat trick of good news is the announcement that Zoe Lyons’ monthly gay-friendly club Bent Double, that plays in the Brighton venue on the first Sunday of every month, has been awarded the gong for Best Club Night in The South. We always knew Brighton had the best of everything in the South East, and it seems the voting public agree.
Komedia generally has a stronghold on big weekend comedy nights, with its Krater Comedy attracting birthdays and celebrations from across the South of the country, and playing Friday night, two shows on Saturday, as well as Sunday evening. This weekend’s proceedings are hosted by Jim Smallman, with the line-up peppered with great sets from the likes of Sean Collins, Tom Allen, Joe Lycett. Prices and times range, but it is worth noting that Saturday’s late show is the most raucous, and Sunday’s performance is more mellow and a lovely round off to the weekend. So really, you can pick any show to suit your mood, and be sure of top talent
treading the basement boards.

Stepping away from Gardener Street now, next Tuesday sees everyone’s favourite round-faced quiz show host – Jimmy Carr – in town, back at the day job of touting puns and clever worldplay, skipping ever so close to the bone, and generally showing off sharply.
Having seen him in the telly, you’re always aware of a certain disarming smoothness about Le Carr, but seeing him in person actually takes your breath away at the precision and professionalism that he brings to every gig. There is an urban comedy rumour that when he started out Jimmy Carr determined to gig every day, as if it was already a job – something never before seen and probably costing him both financially and in huge amounts of energy, as he was also holding down a full time conventional job in all that time. That workmanlike professionalism and pride in his work is still in evidence as he never stops working, and the freshness of his material reflects that beautifully.

If you feel you’ve left it too late to catch Jimmy next Tuesday, you’ll be pleased to hear that he’s added an extra date and will be back with the same show at the end of August. But really, why wait?
Krater Comedy, Komedia, Fri 20 – Sun 22 March, various times, see website for prices and meal deals, www.komedia.co.uk/brighton
Jimmy Carr – Funny Business, Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, Tuesday 24 March, 8pm, £26, brightondome.org