Sophie and Kemah, Richard Melanin the Third and a Fringe revelation...
Comedy shows to see this week!
Hello!
Welcome to week two of the new age. And welcome to July, the month where we celebrate the most exciting date in everyone’s calendar: Battle of the BOYNE. I hope you’re all getting ready for that important day. It is the true Christmas in July.
I had one of the best weeks of the year last week and now I’m emotionally sleepy — a textbook introvert. I saw lots of my favourite people all week, as well as the best show ever, and then spent Sunday watching the entire series of Supacell (watch it). ‘What was the best show ever?’ you ask me. To everyone’s surprise, most of all mine, it was Starlight Express. I shall expand more down below.
This is the first week I’m keeping back a bit extra for the paid subscribers (eek), so if you want to hear more about Starlight Express — which, I promise you with all my heart, counts as a comedy show — that’s how you can!
For new readers, if you’re confused as to why some of the stuff is the same as last week, that’s just the way we do things! The newsletter is weekly but covers the upcoming fortnight to give people both the option of booking things a little in advance and for tomorrow night.
Now, comedy shows!
Comedy shows to see!
Richard Melanin the Third: Pomp and Cirque-umstance No 3.1
When: Jul 16th, 7:30pm
Where: Jackson’s Lane Theatre
Richard Melanin the Third has a special suitcase. Inside that suitcase is pure imagination. Ella the Great’s debut show as the (drag) king of circus finds delight in everyday objects, making the simplest things magical. I saw a version of this a few months ago and it was brilliant: a bewitchingly surprising hour of clowning.
This is part of the London Clown Festival, which also features other shows at Jackson’s Lane I think you should see by Luke Rollason and Troll.
Sophie Duker + Kemah Bob (previews)
When: July 13th, 6:15pm
Where: VFD (Dalston)
Double whammy of two extremely exciting pre-Edinburgh shows: Sophie Duker’s new show But Daddy I Love Her and Kemah Bob’s debut Miss Fortunate. I saw Sophie do a lil bit at Risky Boys comedy night a couple of weeks ago and I’m positive the whole hour is going to be just as exciting. Kemah has been a long time fave and I’m SO happy she’s debuting. But the two of them together at the same time? You have never been so lucky.
Main Character Energy
When: Jul 4-6th, 7:30pm
Where: The Yard Theatre, Hackney Wick
You know this about me: I get hooked on performers and then you end up hearing about them all the time, and then you’re like genuinely THANKS. Temi Wilkey is one of those people. You’ll hear her name a lot more from me as she’s off to make her Edinburgh debut. I knew her first for founding Pecs Drag Kings, and then as the incredible playwright of The High Table and for writing the empirically best episode of Sex Education. Now she’s BACK ON STAGE and she’s the star, the only one you need to look at. A combo of comedy and cabaret, it’s high femme camp at its best. You can and should read more about this show, her process and queer femme-ness here.
The Many Wrongs of Lord Christian Brighty (free recording!)
When: Jul 8th & 18th, 7pm
Where: Hoxton Hall
If you’re feeling the Bridgerton fever or even just a little tickle in the throat, get yourself to Hoxton for the free recording of Christian Brighty’s wonderful character comedy show. I saw Christian’s show during its original Edinburgh run in 2022, and it was the most delightful hour of very silly fun. It’s an homage to and a send-up of regency romances, with the most sensational props. You can apply here for FREE tickets to the recording, which I recommend you do (did I mention it was free?). If you do a good enough job of laughing, you might be able to hear yourself on the BBC. (Use the code SWOON in the comments to jump the queue.)
Early Days
When: Jul 3-4th, 7:30pm
Where: Rosemary Branch Theatre, night one & night two
We can never talk enough about how much we love being in the early previews of shows in progress. The second and third of Bighead Comedy’s early work-in-progess nights are here this week, a gorgeous antidote to the el*ction, with Cabbage the Clown, Pedro Leandro, Rachel Baker, Liv Ello, Cecily Hitchcock and Fabio Lezonli.
FOC It Up Weekender
When: Jul 12-13th
Where: Soho Theatre
Something to look forward to… A whole weekend of FOC It Up is absolutely what the doctor ordered. Kemah Bob is joined by a frankly ridiculous level of comedy talent across one entire weekend in July, with stand-up and drag on the menu.
Fri 12 Jul, 9:15pm
Leila Navabi,
Pravanya Pillay,
Miss Mo Real,
Sigi Moonlight,
Thanyia Moore
Sat 13 Jul, 9:15pm
Amrou Al-Kadhi,
Kyrah Gray,
Kate Cheka,
Blank Peng,
Don One
Remember there’s the option to pay it forward and buy someone a ticket who might not otherwise be able to go — so do that please!
Festivals happening right now!
ARG Comedy Festival
When: Jul 5-7th
Where: Shoreditch Town Hall
London’s most compact, jam-packed and best value comedy festival is finally back (obviously when I am at a wedding ffs), with a full weekend of shows from sunrise to sunset (12pm-10:30pm). The full schedule is released this week, but Saturday includes Ania Magliano, Alice-India, Amy Gledhill, Rob Auton and Laura Davis, with Sunday featuring Erika Ehler, Dee Allum, Jordan Brookes and John Tothill. There’s also the fab Friday night showcase with a taster of what’s coming up across the weekend. The last time I went, I saw five shows in one day and wasn’t even tired because you hardly have to walk anywhere!
Falmouth Cringe Festival
When: Jul 4-7th
Where: Across Falmouth (check for venues)
Another comedy festival, another excellent line-up AND location. The gorgeous Falmouth is host to dozens of shows for the third year of their Cringe festival. Catch Sara Barron, Nabil Abdulrashid, Rajiv Karia, Ruby Carr, Adam Flood, Yuriko Kotani and loads more, plus a bunch of stuff for kids as well if you’re into that sort of thing!
Oxford Comedy Festival
When: Jun 28th-Jul 28th
Where: across Oxford (check for venues)
ANOTHER comedy festival, and this one is in my hometown. See full-hour shows ahead of them going to Edinburgh and also not to Edinburgh - it’s not everything actually! For the whole of July you can see comedy to your heart's content in some of the actually cool places where I sometimes hang out when I go back to visit. Kate Cheka, Celya AB, Chloe Petts, Katie Green, Caitriona Dowden, Eddy Hare, Chelsea Birkby, Ola Labib, Derek Mitchell, Jen Ives and a lot more over the whole month.
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