Watching A Comedy Chum

Late Sunday afternoon I got a message in a group chat from one of the guys off my Comedy Showcase course. He’d been let down by a mate for a ‘bringer’ show he was taking part in and needed his +1 to be able to perform. It was a Sunday night, but more importantly I always want to help support my friends with their comedy so I agreed to be there.

The venue was ‘Comedy Virgins’ at the Cavendish Arms, in Stockwell.

I drove there but it is about a 10 minute walk from Stockwell Tube Station. From the outside there is nothing to suggest there is anything being held there. When I arrived inside, it really felt like I was in the wrong place. A pub, next to a housing estate with no signs of there being comedy on. I checked the postcode and this definitely was the right place!

I had never attended a Bringer show before but the concept is one which splits the comedy community. Some people think it is a preying on comedians to help a venue make loads on drinks; others believe it helps improve audience sizes through increasing ‘normal’ audience members and not just have the acts play to a room full of comedians waiting to perform.

My chum arrived and put his name down on the list – number 11. We weren’t sure where he would end up on the bill but 2nd half seemed to be where we thought he would perform.

The doors opened and we grabbed some seats. Not front row but on an end so he could get up easily when it was his turn. The room quickly filled and before too long the compare – Paul Langton https://twitter.com/mebepaullangton – took to the stage. He explained the set up of the night, how it was an extra show due to so much interest in taking part. He also explained to make it fair to everyone there were some rules.

The Compare then pulled a number out of his wine-bucket tombola……The first act of the night was…..number 11 – My chum!

As the first act of the night a massive round of applause carried him from his seat to the stage. The set started strong and kept building. The audience loved the punchlines and some of the comparisons (‘Why do we have seatbelts on planes but not on buses?’). They laughed at the funny bits and chuckled when he explained his broken fingers.

The 5 minutes passed quickly and soon his set was over. The audience were going wild and when the compare got back on stage there was a loud chant of ‘buy him a drink! Buy him a drink!’ so the first act of the night also became the first act to have a drink bought for them. It did mean he would be part of the ‘clap-off’ at the end of the night for the limited edition winner’s trophy.

All the acts for the rest of the evening made me chuckle. Unknown to me, the smart looking business man with a florida tan sat next to me, was down on the list and went up to perform. 4 minutes in and he got the 1 minute warning . At which point he gave the tech-desk a nod and they started some music. The music was stripping music! The shirt came off, then the trousers….under which he had fishnets stockings and high-heels hidden in his trainers. Very different to everything else on the night but really well received!

At the end of the evening there were 8 acts on stage who all got the ‘buy them a drink!’ shout from the crowd. They were then in a clap-off in pairs. My friend was in the first pair but it was closely fought and unfortunately he was the first person to be sent back to the audience. Eventually the final two were so closely matched that they actually become JOINT WINNERS.

As I left the pub I thought about what a great evening it had been. The venue was a proper set-up for comedy and the audience really did help to keep the laughter and applause going for all the acts all evening.

I’m due back here on Wednesday to see some other friends of mine perform. 2 people this time. At least I know what to expect and I’m certainly looking forward to it.