A Fine Establishment Takes The Piss Out Of Its Punters

Going to see stand up comedy is one of our favourite ways to waste an evening. And we like Banana Cabaret at the Bedford in Balham very much. The Bedford is a massive venue and they’ve been running the Banana Cabaret nights there for years. They regularly get strong line-ups and there’s usually a good atmosphere with a mixture of comedy regulars and a casual, laid back crowd that doesn’t include too many hen nights.

However, we do have a few problems. Firstly, the usual cost without a concession is anything between £13 and £15 on a weekend which is far too much considering that the line-ups, although good, are rarely much better than those you can get at a cheaper club. Secondly, we hate the way that after the comedy is finished, it turns into a really tacky club of the type that you would never want to stay in for more than half an hour, unless you’re into rubbish student cheese. Thirdly, it is often very difficult to get a seat and they knowingly sell tickets to punters who are told to stand which, given that you’re paying a small fortune is not good enough when you’re likely to be there for several hours.

But worst of all is their absolutely shocking decision to put on a special new years eve event which differs little from their normal nights aside from one free cocktail and a buffet but to charge £65 for the privilige. The line-up of John Moloney, Will Smith (see above), John Fothergill and Steve Gribbin isn’t even particularly good. It’s a particularly shameless attempt to cash in on the usual new years eve nonsense.

Which is a shame, because, for a while now, we’ve been planning to write a piece about how much we like Banana Cabaret, but if they’re liable to take the piss out of their customers then all we can really say is that we recommend you take your business elsewhere.

Hear The Truth

We've been posting a lot about stand up comedy lately, but we can't help it. Comedy just suits the "festive" season perfectly.

We first saw Reginald D Hunter in 2002, where he wowed a room full of students at Manchester's superb XS Malarkey comedy night. His amiable style can put any audience at ease. An evening with Reginald is always thought provoking as well as funny. His standard refrain is one of "I love stand up comedy because it's the only place where you can tell the truth and everyone thinks that you're joking".

As time has gone on, Hunter has grown in stature. A string of award nominations and the odd TV appearance has brought him into the limelight, but he still remains a minority concern, loved by those who attend stand up comedy gigs but little known outside in the way that, say, the thoroughly average Jo Caulfield has broken through into mainstream consciousness via the standard panel show/radio 4 circuit. Perhaps it's because Hunter's act is a little too awkward for the mainstream. His sets rely on being seen in length, in their entirety as Hunter explores an idea and takes his analysis of American bullshit to its logical conclusions. The fact that one of his recent shows was called Pride and Prejudice and Niggas probably didn't help either.

Anyway, Hunter is probably the best comedian around not to have received mainstream recognition so should not be missed. He is performing at the Arts Theatre in Soho (not to be confused with Soho Arts Theatre) on 14th-15th, 21st-22nd and 28th-29th December.

Soaking In The Hoisin Of Your Lies

The last time artslondon attempted to get a slice of the rambling musical (he’s got perfect pitch you know) and comedy genius of Bill Bailey, the weather conspired against us. Glastonbury’s traditional rain and mud (plus some bad planning on our part) made us late arrivals to his climatic set, stuck at the back of the crowd with only the chuckles of those lucky buggers at the front as an indicator of where the jokes were supposed to be.

Trudging down the sodden banks of Wembley Way on our way to Bill’s sold out Tinselworm tour, we began to think we’d done something to anger the comedy weather gods. “This was supposed to be super happy fun,” one of our companions complained.

Even without the poor weather, the sheer size of Wembley Arena can make it a cold venue at the best of times, but judging by the cheers and welcome Bill Bailey got as he came on stage, he’s such a national treasure now that it’s hard not to be warmed by the familiar sight of his beard and, according to Bill, what one celebrity magazine called ‘the worst haircut in showbiz’. Well, either that or an arena’s worth of people collectively thought ‘bugger this I’ve paid £27.50 and been soaked to the skin for this so I’m damn well going to enjoy it now’.

Not that there aren’t a few niggles with his current set. A lot of the material is quite familiar – the fan favourite and mixed metaphor-tastic Love Ballad (My heart was cold /It was a stoneMy soul was lonely/Like a stone/There was no moss) ending the evening – and there is the sense that he’s playing it safe, with the messing around with music bits filling out a large chunk of the set. However, when you’re being entertained by someone with as good a comic timing and musical ability as Bill Bailey, it seems churlish to complain that he’s sticking to what he’s best at.

This isn’t to say that the show (and it is a Show, with Flashing Lights and Loud Music and Mobile Trousers Presses and Other Special Effects) isn’t varied in its topics. In the space of two hours he takes us from the childish (manipulating pictures of Margaret Thatcher and James Blunt to say ‘I AM EVIL’) to the political (the moral dilemmas faced by the modern comedian when faced with a big wad of cash and an advertising contract, resulting in the war-cry ‘Hey! Asda! I ain’t gonna be your bitch!’ echoing around Wembley) to the sublime – bringing on a bhangra group (previously seen on a Never Mind The Buzzcocks Christmas special) to collaborate on a strangely moving cover of Radiohead’s ‘Creep’.

Sadly, Bill has no London dates scheduled in the near future. However, you can amuse yourself for at least five minutes, just by playing around on his silly website here.

Kelly Arnstein wrote this.

We Like Books Too

We love stand up comedienne Josie Long. However, we don't think she's particularly funny. At least that was our impression from the time we last saw her play at Soho Theatre where she is about to start a new residency that will run from 28th November 2007 until 15th December 2007.

Josie is to the world of stand up comedy what Belle and Sebastian are to Ozzfest. She has none of the nastiness, overt anger and bitterness that infect the work of so many comedians. When we saw her she had a knitting accomplice who spent the duration of the show knitting a prize for a lucky audience member at the side of the stage. Meanwhile Josie showed off her home-made comics, gave away badges and discussed her love of the film Rushmore.

We wanted to hug her but, curiously, she wasn't actually all that funny. The jokes were often quite tame and predictable. The enjoyment came simply from being in her company as she made us feel a little bit better about the state of the world around us. Meanwhile, many people disagree with our assessment. A certain London listings magazine are obsessed with her and she won the if.comeddies Newcomer Award in 2006. It could just be that we saw her on a bad night.

She claims that her brand new show "will inspire people to talk to each other on public transport" which can only be a good thing so we'll definitely be giving her another chance. We guarantee you'll leave her shows in a good mood and hopefully with a touch of the giggles as well.

Proof that winning the Perrier award doesn't mean you have to instantly become both annoying and ubiquitous

This is Mr. Daniel Kitson. He won an award once. But he doesn't have his own Channel 4 panel show. He doesn't look as good in skinny jeans as Noel Fielding. Actually he looks like Fozzie Bear. See:

Anyway, he happens to be one of our greatest living comedians. An evening in his company is a bit like being an adult and hanging out in your school staff room with the most eccentric geography teacher you ever had being regaled with tales of fossils and geological mishaps. Whilst at the same time being made to laugh uncontrollably until you can barely control your bodily functions.

Fans of Mr. Kitson will know that it can sometimes be rather difficult to see him perform. This is because many of his shows sell out quickly and are announced with very little fanfare. Still, if you head to http://www.danielkitson.com/danmailinglist.html and sign up to his mailing list you should be able to get into one of his shows. He is currently doing a series of Sunday night shows at The Hob in Forest Hill which isn't as out of way as you might think. It's not listed yet on the website but rest assured that it is happening and is worth booking for beforehand. Much of his set feels improvised but there's still a tightness to his performance. His glee at the idiotic and ridiculous is infectious and an evening in his company is time well spent. Reviews of stand up comedy have always seemed rather pointless so we'll leave it there. Just go and see him.