Monkey Barrel Comedy (Feb 2016) | Mumble Comedy

Mumble Comedy
Mumbling Scotland’s Comedy

Menu
Mumble HQ
Comedy
Theatre
Music
Dance
Opera
Festivals
Words
Musicals
Cirque

HomeMonkey Barrel Comedy (Feb 2016)

Monkey Barrel Comedy (Feb 2016)

February 22, 2016February 22, 2016 yodamo

The Beehive Inn
Edinburgh
Friday 18th February

Jamie Dalgleish: Pablo Serski: Jonny Thomson: Keir McAllister:

This comedy show went down in a popular pub in one of Edinburgh’s most well known streets and the venue itself was small so probably not hard to make it appear busy (I estimated capacity to be about 60-70 seats) but still, as embarrassingly-empty-yet-tiny rooms have proven time and again at the Fringe Festival, it takes a lot more than a small footprint to create a crowd these guys must be doing something right because the place was heaving. No doubt the presence of 2 testosterone-saturated stag parties and 1 gaggle of semi-soused hens added to both the numbers and the atmosphere, all 3 groups becoming the collective butt of many a biting joke throughout the night.
One gets the impression that this comedy night will always deliver the goods and at a fairly reasonable price for a Friday night- yes, there are many cheaper or even free nights out in Edinburgh but they are a bit ‘hit and miss’, at best, whereas the quality here was consistent and the performers obviously racked up a fair few comedy miles on the clock. Overall, the show was well organised, with loud music pumping out of large speakers helping build the excitement of the crowd, and the room was packed well before the start time. In total, the night lasted around 2.5 hours and was very well spaced out, with 2 decent breaks in between the 3 sets allowing for ingestion or excretion of liquids, according to individual needs- there’s even time for both, if you’re quick…nothing more annoying than racing out and back again, only to find that the show has already started and you get picked on for the rest of the night by a scathing comedian looking for an easy target.

—
The compere, Rick Molland, was animated, sharp as a razor and flashed his sardonic smile often, which made him likeable (when he was looking at anyone else) but somewhat frightening (when his beady eye was leveled near a defenceless review writer). His style was tough, fast and decidedly un-PC so if you like your comedy sugar-coated then please stay home with a cup of cocoa and a slanket because he pulls no punches and will push the boundaries of what is considered savoury, as one poor, unsuspecting father-of-the-bride found out…I’m still cringing at the memory of it! His comic timing was excellent, as was his ability to constantly engage the audience and keep the pace trotting along nicely but this comes as no surprise since he is one of the most in demand comperes around, with extensive experience working at The stand, Breakneck Comedy and The Beehive. He has also gigged at T in The Park, Wickerman and Rockness festivals, and was runner up in the 2010 Scottish Comedy of the Year (despite being a Scouser) and makes his own films, to boot.

READ A Multitude of Sins: A Dog Gone Mystery | Mumble Comedy

Jamie Dalgleish
–

–
Laughs: Material: Delivery:
–

Act 1 was Jamie Dalgleish, a wee Weegie with a winning smile and winning record- he was Scottish Comedian of the Year 2011. His comedy had a heavy slant on Glasgow life and Scottish stereotypes- think alcoholism and a staple diet of frozen breed- and he touched heavily on the class cliches that are so often completely true. His chat was cheeky, sweet and raised giggles throughout but did not lead to side-splitting laughter- my lasting impression is of someone who has heaps of potential and the ability to win friends with no effort but who needs to be braver and, frankly, meaner- I imagined, expected and wanted him to soften us all up to then deliver a killer line that would make the audience scream with glee and horror but it never came and there is definitely space for it. Come on, Jamie, find your dark side, it’s in there somewhere!

Pablo Serski
–

–
Laughs: Material: Delivery:
–

Next up was Pablo Serski, a relatively new name on the scene but one who has garnered much attention. His name conjured images of a huge Russian wrestler and, although a foot smaller than the image I’d created, he was pretty fierce nonetheless. His jokes were fast, fluid and some really rather brutal (Frankie Boyle styley). His material made all sorts of references to recent current events, from ice-creams and ISIS, to life in Glasgow, crude references to the reality of married life, working for Scottish Gas and a Lost Prophets joke that was…just…er…let’s move on now, shall we! He is a confident performer that oozes intelligence but be prepared for a few sharp intakes of breath at his material- then again, what’s comedy for if not to make us laugh and then be shocked that we did?!

Jonny Thomson
–

–
Laughs: Material: Delivery:
–
Jonny Thomson was third and very different to the others, a loveable, lanky bloke who has one of those faces that just makes you laugh instantly (and I mean that in the nicest possible way). His expressive features had us in stitches more than once and, after the audience members being mercilessly targeted by the compere already, it was a sigh of relief to sit back and enjoy his calm yet entertaining observations about the little things in life. He has a real knack for pointing out the obvious and making it seem very, very funny, with a particular focus on awkward and ridiculous social situations that we’ve all experienced (you know the ones- someone sits right next to you on the bus despite there being 50 other empty seats…cringeworthy but oh so real!). His style is quirky and unique, and his gentle humour reminds us that jokes don’t always have to go for the jugular in order to be funny. If the show were a meal he would be the soothing sorbet between the heavy courses.

READ Sonia Aste: Made In Spain | Mumble Comedy

Keir McAllister
–

–
Laughs: Material: Delivery:
–

The headline 4th act was Keir McAllister, a well known face on the Edinburgh comedy scene but one who burst forth out of absolutely nowhere and was a winner from the start. After a real-life stint as a born-again Christian he decided to change tack completely over a decade ago and entered a Jongleurs competition in Dundee, only to find himself the winner of both that and the next heat, in Glasgow, then found himself thrust into the limelight at the final in London (at the famous Criterion Cafe with hosts such as Jasper Carrott) where he came second. He has since had his ups and downs but has been a stalwart on the scene. His material ranged from the mundane to the ridiculous, with great audience interaction and banter, and covered all manner of things from sex to jogging to Scottish truisms, perfectly timing his swings between pure, Meldrewesque grumpiness and bright, boyish charm.

———-

Overall it was a great night and one I will be repeating and recommending IT, although I have one negative comment: of the 4 featured acts, 3 relied too much on Glasgow clichés and practically used a few of the same jokes/questions that were directed towards the stag & hen parties. All of these comedians were funny in their own right but hearing the same thing over and over again in one show takes the gloss off it somewhat so it would be good to see less of this in future, perhaps a little more communication between the acts pre-performance?
–
Reviewer : Maya Moreno

READ Ian Smith: Crushing | Mumble Comedy

Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:Like Loading…

Post navigation
← RICH HALL : 3.10 to Humour

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Enter your comment here…

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Email (required) (Address never made public)

Name (required)

Website

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out / Change )

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out / Change )

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out / Change )

You are commenting using your Google+ account. ( Log Out / Change )

Cancel
Connecting to %s

Notify me of new comments via email.

Recent Reviews

Monkey Barrel Comedy (Feb 2016)

RICH HALL : 3.10 to Humour

Planet Caramel

Preview : The Return of Gilded Balloon

Monkey Barrel Comedy : 5th Birthday

Sean Hughes

Scottish Comedian of the Year

Search for:

Coming Up ………… click on a poster for more details
Planet Caramel’s ‘Hot Bed’ Feb 25 : Opium (Edinburgh)
Rob Beckett26th Feb @ Old Fire Station (Carlisle)
Monkey Barrel Comedy 26-27 Feb @ Beehive Inn (Edinburgh)
Stanza Poetry Festival
Gilded Balloon ComedyMar 3rd: Carnegie Hall, Dumfermline – 4th: Drygate, Glasgow – 5th Festival Studio, Edinburgh
Monkey Barrel Comedy 4-5 March @ Beehive Inn (Edinburgh)
Glasgow Comedy Festival
Gilded Balloon ComedyMarch 11th : Drygate, Glsagow
Monkey Barrel Comedy 11-12 March @ Beehive Inn (Edinburgh)
Gilded Balloon Comedy18 March : Drygate, Glasgow
Monkey Barrel Comedy 18-19 March @ Beehive Inn (Edinburgh)
Chris Ramsey: All Growed Up26th March @ Old Fire Station (Carlisle)
Monkey Barrel Comedy 25-26 March @ Beehive Inn (Edinburgh)
Planet Caramel’s ‘Hot Bed’ March 31 : Opium (Edinburgh)
Monkey Barrel Comedy 1-2 Apr @ Beehive Inn (Edinburgh)
Gilded Balloon ComedyApril 1st: Drygate, Glasgow – 2nd: Festival Studio, Edinburgh
Monkey Barrel Comedy 8-9 April @ Beehive Inn (Edinburgh)
Monkey Barrel Comedy 15-16 April @ Beehive Inn (Edinburgh)
Monkey Barrel Comedy 22-23 Apr @ Beehive Inn (Edinburgh)
Monkey Barrel Comedy 29-30 April @ Beehive Inn (Edinburgh)
Ed Byrne: Outside, Looking InMay 1st : Perth Concert Hall
Monkey Barrel Comedy 6-7 May @ Beehive Inn (Edinburgh)
Gilded Balloon ComedyMay 6th: Drygate, Glasgow
Monkey Barrel Comedy 13-14 May @ Beehive Inn (Edinburgh)
Monkey Barrel Comedy 20-21 May @ Beehive Inn (Edinburgh)
Monkey Barrel Comedy 27-28 May @ Beehive Inn (Edinburgh)
Gilded Balloon ComedyJune 3rd: Drygate, Glasgow – 4th Festival Studio, Edinburgh
Gilded Balloon ComedyJune 30th: Carnegie Hall, Dumfermline – July 1st: Drygate, Glasgow – July 2nd: Festival Studio, Edinburgh
Sarah Millican: OutsiderJuly 7th : Perth Concert Hall

Related Posts