British Comedy Guide

Stephen Merchant Stand-up

Not sure if this is the right topic for this thread but...

I'm going down to London on Monday to see something called 'Crash Test Comedy' in Islington. Basically, if I understand it correctly, its a place where comedians go to test their new material. And Steve Merchant is confirmed, so I'm proper excited about seeing that.

Hmm..not sure what discussion point that raises, but yeah, thought I'd mention it to show Smerch is looking to do some stand-up. I'll report back on Tuesday my opinions on him!

Oo, sounds good. Aaron am intrigued. :)

I'm surprised Merchant hasn't done stand up earlier (or has he?).

Quote: catskillz @ February 22, 2008, 5:43 PM

I'm surprised Merchant hasn't done stand up earlier (or has he?).

Yes

He has done it before; I met him at an after-show party (wow, how showbiz am I?!) and he said that he was never any good at stand-up but that he was going to look into getting into it again. And now it would seem he is.

Ooh, that sounds brilliant.

I'm sure I saw some of his stand up on TV once upon a time...

I read somewhere he used to do 10 minutes here and there. I loved it when he said that he wanted to be Richard Pryor but ended up like Richard Blackwood.

Quote: catskillz @ February 22, 2008, 5:43 PM

I'm surprised Merchant hasn't done stand up earlier (or has he?).

No - the ceilings are too low.

SMERCH!

I saw him about three weeks ago and thought he was pretty funny. I don't think I'll be spoiling anything when I say that when he takes his glasses off it was very disturbing.

Very

Right, so I went to Crash Test Comedy in Islington last night, and it was an absolute steal. £6 a ticket to see about 9/10 acts (last night included Steve Merchant), where comedians/sketch groups test out their best new material. Obviously it's going to be hit-and-miss sometimes but last night was nearly all hit. It was fantastic. I don't think I'd have argued paying £15 for a ticket (and that includes the 25 odd quid I had to pay train fare down there). Some superb sketches, and I would recommend anyone interested in writing, or even interested in comedy, who lives near that area to go along to the next one in a few weeks, as it gave me so many ideas.

As for the man himself....I was sat third row back, and he actually talked to me when he involved the audience, and he waved his BAFTA at me!!! I thought he was very good, obviously he's only done a few shows before (in this new attempt at stand-up) and I guess it was different material than when Stuart went to see him because he didn't take his glasses off. In my personal opinion, I'd love to see him in 6 months-1 years time when he's perfected his stuff and got more confidence because I think he could be very, very good. His work with the crowd was hilarious.

Anyway, thats my review for what its worth. Done.

Bitchin'. Sounds good. :)

Quote: Aaron @ February 26, 2008, 8:48 PM

Bitchin'. Sounds good. :)

Saying the word "bitchin'" definitely suits you Aaron Rolling eyes I think you should do it more often!

Bitchin'ly so.

Quote: Charisma @ February 26, 2008, 8:38 PM

As for the man himself....I was sat third row back, and he actually talked to me when he involved the audience, and he waved his BAFTA at me!!! I thought he was very good, obviously he's only done a few shows before

The Sun newspaper hasn't been quite so kind...

TV's Stephen Merchant is embarking on a new sideline as a stand-up comedian. And he is terrible. Fact.

TV Biz caught the lanky not-so-funny-man, 33, at London's Pleasance Theatre. And we left with our sides firmly intact. Just like Ricky Gervais, he seems to have let his success with The Office and Extras go to his head.

Half his act was taken up with tales of trying to pull by boasting about his awards. We all squirmed as he told a bloke in the crowd that his missus would be better off with a guy with Baftas than a nobody like him. "I'm a barrister," the man said. Cue painful silence as Merchant failed to find anything to come back with.

Ouch. I assumed Merchant had in fact started in stand-up before coming into writing. I seemed to remember him on the Comedy Map of Britain programme saying he used to do stand-up?

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