Comedy: April fools
Highlighting the mix of comedy ahead this week
Tis the season to play silly blighters practical jokes on each other this Wednesday, cramming as much tomfoolery into the morning as possible, and declaring whomsoever plays any larks after midday to be the fools themselves. Yup, it’s April Fools’ Day.
If you can’t be bothered to find your own supply of laughter for this annual time of tomfoolery, then let the professionals step up and take the strain, with some remarkably top notch comedians in town on the day itself, and the night before.
First up, on April Fools’ Eve (yes, that can be a thing) is John Bishop, in town with his ‘Supersonic’ show, having returned due to popular demand. This is an extra date added to the tour that has already proven very successful for the Liverpudlian. He is an everyman with a nice suit, and as such Bishop’s brand of down to earth and easily relateable humour has seen him rise in the last few years rapidly, from playing the Brighton Dome’s Studio Theatre to the Brighton Centre in record time.
On April Fools’ itself the fab Gina Yashere is playing over at The Old Market in Hove, returning to Britain after an extended stay Stateside with her biggest solo show to date.
Promising to cover her travels that have taken her all over the world, with tales and experiences ranging from her stint as a crap psychic on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, to being menaced by three uber-intelligent cats at her friend’s flat, as well as ridiculous auditions in Los Angeles, being coughed on in China, and finding herself in a brothel in Singapore. Yashere finishes this tour in a couple of weeks at the Brixton Academy, so reap the benefits of the home run gig here.
Covering two dates, and taking up residence in the biggest room of the Brighton Dome complex is Dylan ‘Black Books’ Moran. In last week’s exclusive interview (check it out at www.thelatest.co.uk) he mentioned that he has “a slight problem with the idea of saying the same thing on Wednesday as I did on Tuesday”, meaning it could just be worth your while to get tickets to both nights! Moran is now a family man, but that doesn’t make him any less amusingly cantankerous on stage. You get the impression Moran was a grumpy old man before he started shaving, and has benefited every day from it.
Gina Yashere – Laugh Riot, The Old Market, Wednesday 1 April, 8pm, www.theoldmarket.com
Dylan Moran – Off The Hook, Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, Wednesday 1 & Thursday 2 April, £26/24, brightondome.org
John Bishop – Supersonic, Brighton Centre, Tuesday 31 March, £30, www.brightoncentre.co.uk
