Trio who are making sketch comedy acceptable again

ON about the third attempt, a member of Pappy's Fun Club is contacted.

Bad mobile phone reception, hectic timetables and sea crossings to Ireland account for the several failed attempts to speak to one of the three men who make up the Fun Club.

"It's a bit hectic at the minute," says Matthew Crosby, speaking from a Ford Focus which is travelling to Swansea for the trio's next gig. The car contains the three comedians who make up Pappy's Fun Club and all the kit they need for their stage show. "Fortunately, the car's pretty roomy, and we're all getting on – but its only 14 days into the tour, so ask again at the end and we might be ready to kill each other," says Crosby.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

These days, there seems to be a plethora of people wanting to stand at a microphone and make people laugh. There are far fewer people attempting to do what Crosby, Ben Clark and Tom Parry are trying to do: win audiences over with sketch comedy.

The group came together in 2004 and have risen up the comedy ladder with impressive speed. In 2007, they won a nomination for the Perrier award at the Edinburgh Festival and people started to take notice of a group peddling a type of comedy that has been dismissed as passe. "Sketch comedy has been seen as a bit naff for a long time, although I think with acts like The Mighty Boosh, and We Are Klang and shows like Little Britain and The Catherine Tate Show, it's become somehow a bit more acceptable," says Crosby.

The Library, Leeds, March 20; York City Screen, 21; Harrogate Theatre, 29. The Otherside, Hull, April 11; The Other Side, Scarborough, April 12.

Related topics: