Saturday 12 December
Woody Bop Muddy, Voltini, Dave Thompson, Brian Damage and Krysstal Clear, Martin Soan, Tom Glover, Bentley and the Dr Funk Disco.
Doors 7pm / start 8pm
£14 (£12.50 + £1.50p bf) advance / £18 on door
Tickets from Bridport Electric Palace Box Office, Bridport TIC or online from seetickets.com
Dinner and Show £30 advance sales only (incl reserved seating)
Whenever Bentley ran the notorious Laughing Cabaret nights, the audience were always in for a eclectic comedy treat, due to his penchant for booking wonderful acts that were not just ‘stand ups’.
When Bridport Electric Palace contacted him to ask if he would be interested in putting a show together (perhaps another one man show after his hugely popular two-and-half hour swansong four years ago) they could almost hear him grinning as he said: “I won’t do a one-man show but ‘stand by’ for a few days and I will see if the acts I want are available.”
Luckily for Bridport they were and he has put together a comedy extravaganza of epic proportions and exceptional quality, embracing all that is and was magnificent about the UK comedy scene. It’s taking place on Saturday 12 December and features Woody Bop Muddy, Voltini, Dave Thompson, Brian Damage and Krysstal Clear, Martin Soan, Tom Glover, Bentley and the Dr Funk Disco.
Bentley says the live comedy scene has suffered greatly in recent years but all comedy aficionados who have seen the bill are tremendously excited about its diversity. And if there is one comedy compere you would trust to be able to first of all attract the right acts and then host the night with consummate and irreverent aplomb, then that person is Bentley.
The show will be split into three sections, with two acts in each 45 minutes segment, and two breaks of 15 minutes.
As is traditional at Bentley gigs, there will be waiter service to the audience while the acts are on and there will be several tables down near the front.
There will be two breaks of about 15 mins, featuring the exquisite music taste of DJ Dr Funk. Because of the length of the show it will be starting prompt at 8pm and is likely to finish sometime after 11 – so try to get there early to be lubed up, chat to old mates and seat ready for Bentley to stroll onto stage and get the night rolling.
Woody Bop Muddy presents Record Graveyard
Woody’s Record Graveyard is a legend of the festival and comedy circuit.
In his role as a demented DJ, Woody takes the stage with a stack of popular music, and in a fury of ritualistic chaos, plays, then destroys each record in turn.
But not before the audience cast their vote. Should it get smashed by his trusted ‘Golden Hammer’ or allowed to ascend into Record Heaven?
This is a show which is totally different from anything you’ve ever seen before – unless you’ve seen this before, you tart. NB- Bring your own Rice.
“The best was saved to last, with the brilliantly ridiculous anarchy of Woody Bop Muddy…. It’s a superbly daft act combining inspired madness, irrefutable high energy and liberating audience participation…It’s a genuine joy.” Chortle
“A breath of fresh lunacy.” The Guardian
“Created a near riot.” The Stage
Woody has performed at Edinburgh Festival, The Montreal Just For Laughs Festival, Glastonbury, Reading, Bestival, The Big Chill, and Womad Festivals. He has appeared at The Comedy Store, Jongleurs, and at comedy venues across the UK and Europe.
Voltini
Come one, come all, come great, come small, come see the one and only ‘Voltini Sideshows’, the very last live action touring sideshow left in the land.
Step up and step in to see the living lightning lady, Madame Electra!, 270,000 volts seer through her beautiful body & yet she is still alive!
Step up and step in to see the strange machines of Nikola Tesla. One million volts of man made lightning right before your very eyes. It’s for the young, the old, the brave and the bold, a thrill with a laugh for the whole family.
Truly authentic Victorian sideshow performed as it was over 100 years ago.
An electric atmosphere is guaranteed!
Dave Thompson
Dave Thompson has spent most of his life performing as an actor, stand-up comedian, and clown. Not a clown with make-up and a red nose, a clown in the archetype of the well-meaning innocent; a tradition kept alive by Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Tommy Cooper, Steve Martin, Eric Morecambe, Pee Wee Herman, Rik Mayall, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Harry Hill.
He writes jokes, sketches, and his first novel The Sex Life of a Comedian is on sale now.
His absurd style of stand-up comedy inspired Ben Elton to write a part especially for him in the feature film Maybe Baby, which was on general release around the world.
“Dave Thompson has a unique style and some of the best one-liners.” The Guardian
“The best one-liners I’ve heard this season.” The Independent
“His ballerina routine nearly brought the house down.” Comedy Review
“Dave Thompson astonishes with his lanky eccentricities… talented and always amusing.” Time Out
“Dave Thompson… everything in the world is beautiful.” Comedy Magazine.
“One of the finest joke writers in the country”. Time Out
Brian Damage and Kyrsstal Clear
Since meeting at The Edinburgh Festival in 2000 Brian & Krysstal have entertained and delighted all kinds of audiences at comedy clubs, cabaret nights, festivals, corporate and private functions in locations far and wide.
Regular fixtures at The Edinburgh Festival for eight years, the duo have worked all over the UK as well as Germany, South Africa, Gozo, Spain, Denmark, Ireland, Australia and of course… Peckham.
Brian is infamously grumpy and deadpan, while his assistant Krysstal is glamorous but ditzy. The combination is unique and very funny. Their timing is exquisite, their humour dry and sometimes bawdy. Brian & Krysstal’s first CD Silly Songs, recorded in 2001, is now available on iTunes.
Wherever they go their baggage goes with them, including several instruments (not always musical in their hands).
Individually they have many years of experience in the entertainment industry, Brian as a musician and Krysstal as an actress in Australia.
Their unconventional vaudeville-style act is punctuated by silly songs, the odd bit of Spanish dancing, loads of jokes and loads of belly laughs. They also run and compere their own club in central London.
Martin Soan
Martin is founder of The Greatest Show on Legs, a young Time Out Award winner turned middle-aged Perrier Award Nominee and long time collaborator with Malcolm Hardee, the late great Godfather of Alternative Comedy.
“Martin Soan is a gag artist, but not your run of the mill stand up comedian…He amuses and amazes with extroardinary use of everyday objects including U-bends, head gaskets and electronic drills. His unique style evokes genuine mirth and delight exercising all the laughter muscles from the belly, chest, throat and most prevailingly the head sending any audience away with a store of comic images which keeps them guffawing well into the middle of next week…Martin discards his accolades and defies definition as anything other than: A master of Prop Comedy, Tommy Cooper on Acid…” The Face
Tom Glover
On the UK comedy circuit since 2010, Tom has avoided the bright lights of TV panel shows in favour of the best and worst (in fact, any) clubs, tents, pubs, theatres and fields Britain has to offer.
Following in the footsteps of the Westcountry’s finest comedy talent, Tom has been growing in the dark depths of the South West where he is a regular MC and headliner for those rooms no-one else can afford to drive to.
Gigging to everyone from students to the ladies of the WI, this plucky 27-year-old has developed a knack of winning over any crowd with his tales of life on the outside and his observations on the minutiae of the everyday. And if that’s not your thing he also does funny accents and pulls silly faces.
In all honesty he is “going to be a comedy monster” (Matt Price, Comic) and “deserves to go a long way”(Steve Hall, We Are Klang) for his “wickedly funny, beautifully timed observations”(View From Newspapers).
Bentley
There is something of the incorrigible pirate about Bentley. His stage presence, his voice, his looks and his outrageous way of dispelling rural myths all combine to produce a very funny, rustically risqué and rurally right on comedian.
For his material he draws on his West Country roots and his vast experience of life as a Navigating Officer in the Merchant Navy (which he still does).
He’s not for the faint hearted although he can tailor his material to suit most open minded audiences. He has the crowd singing along to outlandish parodies of country and western classics and re-living great rock moments.
On stage he has a huge presence and is unfazed by any crowd, large or small, hostile or friendly and has established himself as a top quality act who can open, close, or compere with consummate skill.
“The drinking woman’s Jethro.” Bournemouth Echo
“Incorrigible and irrepressible.” Bridport News
“Too raunchy for the village hall.” Powerstock Parish Magazine
“Frightening, fearless and f***ing funny.” Run to the Sun Festival brochure
