Reader review: Pay Day Comedy Club, Ilkley

The Pay Day Comedy Club, which could become a regular feature in the town, made its debut with a series of hilarious acts which included the immensely talented comedy magician, Al Rudge and headline act/ promoter Anthony J Brown.

Brown, who has won various awards for comedy, approached staff at the Playhouse after coming across pictures of the popular Ilkley venue on the Internet.

He said: “It looked like the perfect venue for comedy so we organised a gig. Hopefully it will become a regular feature.”

If the success of Saturday night’s performance is anything to by, the proposed monthly night out (timed to coincide with pay day) is sure to be popular with locals.

The event was held in the Wildman Theatre which is situated downstairs in The Playhouse. Tables laden with a selection of nuts, crisps and nibbles were set out for punters who had ready access to the reasonably priced bar next door. A delicious Yorkshire serving of Pie and Peas was also dished out during a break and for just £12 a ticket, the night was incredibly good value.

Promoters are hoping to continue on a regular basis bringing all sorts of new acts to the town.

This is good news for Ilkley which has only recently seen talented comedians from The Jongleurs visiting the King’s Hall as part of the organisation’s On The Road tour. Both events are affordable, offer food as well as entertainment and have provided a welcome boost to the local night life.

The Playhouse is perhaps the more suitable of the two venues for comedy - a darkened atmosphere in a cosy room with just the right amount of intimacy between audience and comedian to make for a good giggle.

This was demonstrated admirably on Saturday (Feb 26) by compere for the night Gareth Urwin. Renowned for his upbeat style and delivery, Urwin is resident compere at abbcom comedy nights, Sheffield University Halls and is the former MC of Bradford Funhouse and VLS Comedy in Saltaire.

Urwin is like a cheeky schoolboy on stage and did an excellent job of warming up the crowd. His talent lies in bringing people together and he soon had unsuspecting audience members participating in the fun by asking them to fake death after he ‘shot’ them with his microphone. It became apparent early in the night that everyone was up for a laugh, no matter what their age, with audience members ranging from men and women in their sixties, to young students.

First up on the stage was comedy magician Al Rudge. Rudge has the zany look of a magician (a bit like an over-sized Harry Potter) and used a number of one-liners alongside his tricks to rouse a smile. Magic, he explained, was a talent that ran in his family - his dad disappeared with a ‘puff’ when Rudge was a child.

His tricks included sticking a nail through his nose, waving his magic wand to create a small explosion in his hat (before removing a somewhat singed toy rabbit with its entrails hanging out) and sticking a knife down his throat before removing .... just the handle.

Part of the charm of Rudge’s act was the way in which he fluffed the magic and he pulled off his stint without a hitch. His cheesy one-liners were quickly forgiven, possibly due to the originality of his act which had an almost naive quality to it.

Rudge was followed on stage by Preston funnyman James Meehan. Having done the rounds at Pontins, Meehan used his experience on the holiday camps to raise a few smiles. When Pontins went into administration, he explained, there was a help-line for customers who didn’t know what to do without their favourite holiday hot spot.

“I mean, people must be asking themselves, what am I going to do without my yearly break away, without bingo, overpriced food and ageing Robbie Williams tribute acts?” joked Meehan.

Meehan’s style was very much anecdotal as was the comedy of Welsh girl Kiri Pritchard McLean. McLean, who has performed at the popular Frog and Bucket Comedy Club in Manchester, poked fun at her roots telling us ‘My dad thinks a metro-sexual is someone who likes to have sex on trains.”

She performed a brief stint on stage, poking jokes at social networking site Facebook before telling of her embarrassment at being compared to ‘Nessa’ from Gavin and Stacey (played by actress Ruth Jones).

The highlight of the evening was the headline act Anthony J Brown.

Smartly dressed in a suit and slightly dodgy hat, Brown teased his audience from the outset as he set up his microphone with painstaking accuracy.

The juxtaposition of Brown’s slow, deadpan delivery alongside his lighting quick wit made for good comedy. His banter was positively lethargic and he displayed an almost hypnotic quality as he drew the audience in to his dream like world of storytelling before shaking them awake with his piercing wit.

“I visited a feminist prostitute, he told the audience. “It was fantastic.

“Once she finished she offered to pay for her half.”

“Women always fall for me.

“They are only human and always suseptible to chloroform.

“Most comics would have said rohypnol.

“But I am old school.”

Following his performance it was easy to see why Brown has won various awards for his work including the 2003 Jongleurs/Metro ‘Stand and Deliver’ comedy award. He was also a runner up in the BBC New Comedy Awards back in 2000 and has performed alongside household names such as Alan Carr and Justin Moorhouse (Pheonix Nights).

Overall, the entire night’s entertainment was great value for money and a real hit with the audience.

The crisps and nuts on the table was an especially nice touch as were the pie and peas.

The next Pay Day Comedy night will be held at Ilkley Playhouse, Weston Road, Ilkley, on April 30th.