What to expect at the Notts Comedy Festival 2015
Published: Saturday 24th October 2015
Soon microphones will be picked up, speakers plugged in and lights turned on (in whichever order is best), as The Nottingham Comedy Festival 2015 begins.
This year the annual event, which began in 2009, is set to take place from Friday 6th to Saturday 14th November, with a huge collection of comedy stars due to appear as part of the programme.
For nine days, laughter will shake the underpinning structure of Nottingham, echo along the alleyways, through the recently extended tram system and dissipate into the deep caverns of the historic city.
Last year, I assisted the small team behind the festival with marketing, handing out booklets, guiding people upstairs, downstairs and around corners towards the venues. For a first ever comedy festival experience it surpassed my expectations... and culminated in a very brief stage appearance with award winning stand-up Patrick Monahan. Patrick's well known for involving his audience - but you're up for it when your name's Dave.
So, what to expect from the 2015 festival? Well, this year there's over 100 shows all around the city, double the amount of 2014. Venues include clubs, pubs, arcades and even a double decker bus, as comedian Bob Slayer brings his hit 'Blundabus' - a jazzy, refurbished double decker bus - down from Edinburgh and plonks it outside Castle Rock Brewery.
Many comedians who performed in Scotland's capital will be following Bob's journey to Nottingham, but some may overtake, familiar with the roads having performed at the event last year.
Since the festival's inception seven years ago, the aforementioned Patrick Monahan, a friend of the Comedy Festival team, has made annual visits to the city. He's back this year with his show Disco Years...
This latest show is somewhat autobiographical, a topic Patrick admits he's unintentionally avoided throughout his career. It profiles his upbringing in Iran in the 1970s and his family's transition from Western Asia to Teesside. The 'disco years' accompanied Patrick's early-to-teenage years, hence the musically-inspired theme...
I caught up with Patrick, fresh from a month solid in the Edinburgh wind and already busy on his international tour (with performances in Turkey, Bahrain and Crete, to name a few) to get 'insider' details about the show and his thoughts on the Notts Comedy Festival, which is pencilled, circled and underlined in his diary.
Patrick explained: "Well, Disco Years is all about me being born in the 1970s, growing up in the disco times and about me family's journey from Iran to England. I guess it's one of them shows that stand-ups typically do in their earlier years. But it's taken me like 10 years to go back and do a show about me life from the beginning!
"Initially, I was a bit worried because I wasn't really sure if people were going to be interested in me upbringing, me mum and me dad - who wants to know about that?! But the Edinburgh audience seemed to like it and the show got good reviews.
"From my point of view, the idea did seem a bit boring, but as I did the research I found it to be quite exciting! I think the fact that me mum still speaks Iranian, and that the culture is still prevalent in our household, made it a good topic for comedy.
"But the best thing about the research was listening to the old disco music, particularly Sister Sledge's Lost in Music - it just doesn't get old! It was great doing the research because my phone got flooded with all kinds of amazing disco songs from that era."
Last year the same venue - Canalhouse on Canal Street - played host to Patrick's Adventures in Monahan Land tour. A large crowd turned out to watch him, as I discovered standing by the entrance door to point confused audience members creeping towards me to go upstairs towards the stage.
Patrick said of the festival: "It's a fantastic city and I thought it was a great idea when Helen [Helen Stead, the Festival Director] first mentioned starting a comedy festival in Nottingham.
"And it keeps getting bigger and bigger every year. If you look at it, some of the most successful festivals started off with just a few shows and I think in 10 years time this could be just as big as the others."
He added: "I think it's so successful because Helen and the team are really passionate about comedy."
Famed for his high energy performances and sharp observational humour - not to mention his hugs! - Patrick will appear at the Canalhouse on Wednesday 11th November at 7:30pm.
The Nottingham Comedy Festival did indeed begin when Helen and her friend Rachel Greensmith, then members of a local Nottingham improv group, whispered to each other during a visit to The Comedy Store in London an idea about setting up a comedy festival. Three months later, the first ever Notts Comedy Festival began.
Skipping scenes to 2015, and there's many comedians preparing for the event. Well known acts at the festival will include Rob Beckett (Mouth of the South), Gary Delaney (Work in Progress), Sofie Hagen (Bubblewrap), Kerry Godliman (Work in Progress), Hal Cruttenden (Straight Outta Cruttenden), Paul Kerensa (Back to the Futon Pt2) and The Noise Next Door...
Almost certainly the biggest attraction this year will be comedy legends Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse, performing at the Royal Concert Hall on Thursday 12th November. The comedy duo will be showcasing their famous characters, including Loadsamoney, The Old Gits, Smashie & Nicey and Kevin The Teenager in their first ever live UK tour.
Helen urges those planning to attend the festival to "take a gamble" and go and see shows/performers they may not have heard of yet too though, "as you could be pleasantly surprised." Aptly, one of the venues is the swanky Alea Casino on Upper Parliament Street... so, go on, roll the dice.
A full schedule of performers, dates, venues and times can be found on the Notts Comedy Festival website
I'll be attending the festival again this year, though, to avoid enticing comedians or being dragged on stage, I'm changing my name to Alan. Or Tony... that should do it.
The Notts Comedy Festival supports the National Autistic Society, the charity which helps over 2.7 million people a year. The team are raising money and awareness for the cause and, if you wish, donations can be made online via VirginMoneyGiving.com
The Notts Comedy Festival runs from the 6th to 14th November 2015. For full details and tickets visit nottscomedyfestival.co.uk
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