Friday 6 August 2010

COMEDY 365 AT EDINBURGH 2009 - PROGRAMME 5

On today’s show, in order of appearance:

TAYLOR GLENN
As well as being part of Slow Genius (see last Monday’s show) and sketch comedy group Token Yank, New York native and Cardiff resident Taylor has been performing stand up throughout the UK, in addition to writing for radio and the stage. Earlier this year, she recently won the Welsh Unsigned Stand-up Award at the Cardiff Comedy Festival, pocketing a grand and winning a slot supporting Rhod Gilbert at St. David's Hall, Cardiff. This year you’ll find her at Edinburgh for one show only, on the bill of one of three Funny Women showcases taking place at Assembly @ George Street on August 23rd (19.20) or 24th (noon and 17.20). Exact line-ups are still to be confirmed, so keep an eye on the Funny Women website for updates.

DELETE THE BANJAX
You are cordially invited to join Delete the Banjax for their third Edinburgh Fringe but their first in a major venue for a paying audience, which is entitled (rather unsurprisingly) Delete the Banjax…and You (Pleasance Attic, 17.45, Until Aug 30th, not 17th).

JAMES REDMOND
He’s modelled for Calvin Klein, which led to a regular job looking pretty on a regular basis in Hollyoaks, which in turn led to some proper acting work in Casualty and even shared a TV sofa with Cat Deeley for a few weeks (well, so would you if the offer came up). Now that’s all over, 38-year-old James – in no way suffering a mid-life crisis – has decided to give stand-up comedy a go. At the time he appeared with us last year, he’d only been at it a few months. Thankfully, the novelty hasn’t worn off because, as you’ll hear, he’s actually rather good at it. Right now, you can catch him in his full Edinburgh debut, The Monumental Joke Disco, along with Lou Sanders and Luke Benson (Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 15.30, from today until Aug 29th, not 16th).

NICK HELM
Nick will this year be performing his debut Edinburgh solo show entitled Keep Hold of the Gold (Downstairs at the Tron, 15.40, Until Aug 29th, not 18th).

JAKE YAPP
Jake continues to contribute to Sean Keaveney’s breakfast show on BBC 6 Music and is also currently producing promos for UKTV. Once he gets a moment to breathe, he has assured us he will return with some new podcasts for 404 Funny too. Until then, you can still catch the best bits from his previous two podcasts, The Jake Yapp Podcast and Jake Yapp’s Little Bits.

http://media.libsyn.com/media/funny404/EDINBURGH2009edit5.MP3

All acts recorded live at Sowerby & Luff’s All Stars at The White Horse, Canongate.

Thursday 5 August 2010

COMEDY 365 AT EDINBURGH 2009 - PROGRAMME 4

On today’s show, in order of appearance:

JAMES SHAKESHAFT
James co-wrote and appeared in Hung Out for Channel Four’s Comedy Lab, and the first six episodes of Dr Answers, the 404 Funny podcast he produced with David LE Davis, are still available for download. If you’ve never heard the show, why not start with the series compilation?

CAROLINE MABEY
Caroline’s made the step up from the Free Fringe to the ticketed Fringe this year, something that isn’t as easy as it looks. Our very own Jake Yapp can testify to that, having had direct experience of it last year – and Caroline’s at the same venue: Just the Tonic @ The Caves. Now, it used to be that the Caves were just known as Caves 1, 2, and 3 – but this year there are six performance spaces at the venue, all with wacky Underbelly / Pleasance-like names, including the one Caroline’s in: Just the Wee One. We only hope that doesn’t mean she’s doing a show in the toilets – it’ll cause havoc with her multimedia and probably make her more ill than she was when she did a guest spot for Comedy 365 last year. Her 2010 show, Eat Your Friends, is on at 16.35, from today until August 29th (not 17th), and comes highly recommended.

RICHARD BROPHY
Richard’s back on the Free Fringe this year with Kiwi Nick Rado in One Kiwi, One Aussie, One Hour (16.15, Aug 7th-28th) in the front of Sin Club and Lounge, which, for those old hands of the Fringe, was most recently known as Holyrood Too @ Faith and, many years ago, used to be the venue for Late ‘n’ Live.

PAUL HARRY ALLEN
Why Paul isn’t regularly on the radio, God only knows. One of the Fringe’s great storytellers, only he has the ability to turn the products of his thrift shopping expeditions into unmissable Edinburgh shows. Last year, he brought the stranger parts of his record collection to the Fringe; this year, he’s returning to the Laughing Horse Free Festival, recounting the tale of a wad of letters from the 1960s he found in a junk shop in The Lost Letters of Cathy G (Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 15:15, Aug 6th-30th).

ROSIE WILBY
Rosie’s Edinburgh 2010 show is Further Science of Sex (Underbelly Delhi Belly, 16.15, from today until Aug 29th, not 16th).

MRS BARBARA NICE
Barbara, the alter-ego of character comedian Janice Connolly, has been touring her 2009 Edinburgh show, doing the (very) odd guest spot during the first half of 2010, and playing Arthur Smith’s housekeeper in his Balham Bash series on Radio 4. There are no gigs currently advertised, which hopefully means she’s putting her feet up in Stockport with a nice cup of tea and some Lemon Puffs. But keep your eyes peeled on the Dates section of her fabulous website, the portal to all things Nice, for future appearances and lots more. And yes, her act was every bit as fun as it sounds.

http://media.libsyn.com/media/funny404/EDINBURGH2009edit4.MP3

All acts recorded live at Sowerby & Luff’s All Stars at The White Horse, Canongate.

Wednesday 4 August 2010

COMEDY 365 AT EDINBURGH 2009 - PROGRAMME 3

On today’s show, in order of appearance:

DOUG FAULKNER
As you read this, Doug is probably trolling around the nation’s clubs looking for grown women willing to undergo a make-under in the fourth series of BBC Three’s Snog, Marry, Avoid. He’s also filmed versions of some of the sketches from his 2009 Edinburgh solo debut, and we might even get a podcast or two out of him in the next 12 months.

JON BRITTAIN
Jon is appearing at the Edinburgh Festival in his own play The Wake (Bedlam Theatre, 20.00, Aug 6th-28th).

THE DOG-EARED COLLECTIVE
Contrary to their name, everything seems to be ship-shape in DEC land at the moment. The five-piece sketch troupe from Leeds are back in Edinburgh this year with a show entitled The Dog-Eared Collective's Joyride (Underbelly White Belly, 15.10, Aug 5th-29th, not 18th), which promises “morris dancing with missiles, falafel freefall, and Team GB's Olympic dragon”.

KATERINA VRANA
No, not the “star” of dubious celluloid delights as Girl Camp 2004 and Lesbian Fleshpots, but the loud, vibrant, frizzy-haired MC of London's Vranarama (Lowdown at the Albany, 2008-09) and Edinburgh's Comedy at The Grape. Not at Edinburgh herself this year, as far as we know – but if you’re in London, she’ll be performing at London’s Comedy Pub this coming Saturday (August 7th) and again on September 20th. Both shows start at 20.30, doors 20.00.

JAY FOREMAN
Jay will be showcasing some of the material from his second CD in Pretend You’re Happy (Underbelly Delhi Belly, 13.40, Aug 5th-29th, not 18th).

http://media.libsyn.com/media/funny404/EDINBURGH2009edit3.MP3

All acts recorded live at Sowerby & Luff's All Stars at The White Horse, Canongate.

Tuesday 3 August 2010

COMEDY 365 AT EDINBURGH 2009 - PROGRAMME 2

On today’s show, in order of appearance:

LORCAN McGRANE
Lorcan will be replicating the Edinburgh experience at home this year by drinking heavily, eating badly, reading scathing Chortle reviews, and sitting fully clothed under a shower. He might blog a bit about it too, if you're lucky.

JEN WARREN
Canadian ex-pat Jen may have appeared solo with us last year, but she was part of a double act with Charlotte Jo Hanbury that brought nudity and possibly the most disturbing flyer of 2009 to the Gilded Balloon. You can catch Jen making sporadic appearances on the London fringe comedy circuit and watch some filmed sketches on her website.

ALFIE MOORE
Alfie will be taking his 2009 Edinburgh show The Laughter Police to the Hull Comedy Festival this coming October.

DEE CUSTANCE
One of our fellow comedy time-sharers at the White Horse, Dee will be in Edinburgh this summer…but only because she lives there, working in animation during the day and hosting Lemon Custard comedy nights whenever she gets some free time, which sadly doesn’t seem to be that often at the moment. There was also a brief flirtation with podcasting a while back (along with Emma Lennox) to which we hope she’ll return…

ERIC KIRCHBERGER
Eric will be appearing in a movie, Lucky, due to go on general release in the US around the turn of the year.

http://media.libsyn.com/media/funny404/EDINBURGH2009edit2.MP3

All acts were recorded live at Sowerby & Luff’s All Stars, which took place at The White Horse, Canongate.

Monday 2 August 2010

COMEDY 365 AT EDINBURGH 2009 - PROGRAMME 1

And so, as the 2500+ performers at this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival deal with venues without seats, toilets, or ceilings, and prepare for their tech runs, only to realize they’ve forgotten to hire a someone to work the sound and lights, we at 404 Funny turn our attention to last year’s Fringe experience, when we were hiding behind the curtain at Comedy 365’s show in the cosy back room of The White Horse pub in Canongate. Sadly, landlords Rab and Kath decided not to renew their lease on the pub and it closed in November of last year.

But there’ll always be the comedy…

On today’s show, in order of appearance:

PAUL RICKETTS
Paul’s 2010 Edinburgh show is Kiss the Badge, Fly the Flag (Just the Tonic @ The Caves, 22.40, Aug 5th-29th, not 13th or 16th).

DAN McKEE
Dan is appearing in Great Yarmouth Social Club (Laughing Horse @ Edinburgh City Football Club, 20.30, Aug 7th-29th, not 9th, 16th, or 23rd).

JOHN SMITH
John remains the co-founder (along with Dan Willis) and one of the resident MCs of the Grinning Idiot Comedy Club, which runs nights at no fewer than seven venues in the north east of England.

SLOW GENIUS
The ladies (Arabella Butler, Serena Lewis, Taylor Glenn, Dominique Fester, Rachael Nicholson) are still recovering from their 2009 experience in Edinburgh, but are sure to return to the stage in Cardiff and elsewhere with their regular nights at some point soon. In the meantime, Rachael has been running about in the open air dressed as a nun, all for the love of Shakespeare, and Taylor won the 2010 Welsh Unsigned Stand-up Award, despite being American.

CAROLYN CASTIGLIA
If you’re in New York City, you can catch Carolyn this Friday (August 6th) hosting her monthly show Splurge! at Happy Ending, 302 Broome Street (Forsyth/Eldridge). The show starts at 7pm and promises “amazing stand-ups, killer music, and a video premiere”. Lots more videos and future gig news can be found on Carolyn’s blog.

BEN LERMAN
Again, choosing to stay in the Big Apple Strudel rather than the wet and windy capital of Scotland this August, Ben is keeping himself busy nonetheless, opening for Claudia Cogan at Creek and the Cave in Long Island City this coming Sunday (August 8th, 6.30pm) and they’ll also be appearing together on next Monday’s Keith and the Girl podcast. Other forthcoming dates include the Brooklyn Underground Comedy Festival at Public Assembly, Brooklyn (August 16th, 7.45pm), a guest spot on Jessica Delfino’s Show at White Slab Palace (August 28th, 8pm), and an appearance at next month’s Splurge! (September 10th, 7pm, see Carolyn Castiglia for venue details). By the way, you may like to know that Ben and his spoonerism namesake Len Berman have met in the 12 months since his performance was recorded, and thankfully the world didn’t end as a result. Click here to visit Ben's website.

http://media.libsyn.com/media/funny404/EDINBURGH2009edit1.MP3

All acts recorded live at Sowerby & Luff’s All Stars, which was part of PBH’s Free Fringe programme in 2009.