Katie Lingo in the main ground-floor room at Patch at the Bonding Warehouse, York, where she will host the monthly Funny Fridays comedy nights
PATCH, York’s new co-working space, will echo to the sound of laughter tomorrow at the Bonding Warehouse for the first time since the days of Michael S Bennett’s Comedy Shack.
Set up to support York’s burgeoning comedy scene, Funny Fridays is the new monthly venture from York comedian Katie Lingo, otherwise known as Katie Thompson, purveyor of copywriting, content strategy, journalism, digital marketing, reporting and data visualisation services at the Raylor Centre industrial park off James Street.
To bring a smile to her face, the debut bill of Kenny Watt, Tuiya Tembo, Matty Oxley, Saeth Wheeler and John Pease has sold out already at an introductory price of £6.50 but tickets are available for the second night on June 13, when admission will rise to £10.
Kenny Watt: Scathing Scottish current affairs commentator
“There will be drinks. There will be swears. There will be laughs,” says Katie Lingo managing director Katie, who will host the event from 7.30pm in Patch’s main room, kitted out with a bar, on the ground floor.
“I’m a member of York Creatives, so, when Patch re-opened the Bonding Warehouse as a co-working space, Thom (site director Thom Feeney) suggested I should put on a comedy night here, harking back to the Comedy Shack days.”
Set up by the late Michael S Bennett in the early 1990s, the club’s first three shows were headlined by rising talents Mark Thomas, Alistair McGowan and Jo Brand, while Bennett asked a then-unknown north-eastern comedian by the name of Ross Noble to compere the bills. A nascent Lee Evans would later appear there too.
“I feel very honoured to have been asked, and to know to know that I’ll be running Funny Fridays where so many of my comic heroes once played,” says Katie Lingo
Now Katie is picking up the comedy baton. “I started performing comedy in January 2024 and the biggest place I’ve done so far is the Comedy Store in London,” she says.
“I’ve performed at Complete Joke Comedy nights in The Den at Micklegate Social, held on the first Sunday of every month, and I’ve played Laughs On Draught at Brew York, off Walmgate, too.
“Soon I’ll be doing the new Rik Mayall Comedy Festival [running from May 31 to June 7] at Droitwich Spa, a lovely little village where I went in March.”
Saeth Wheeler: Performing on the first Funny Fridays bill at Patch
Katie is thrilled to be setting up Funny Fridays, with its format of five acts per bill, each performing 15 minutes upwards to a seated capacity of 120 (or 130, standing).
“Absolutely! I feel very honoured to have been asked, especially to do so at a building that has played its part in York’s history, and also to know that I’ll be running it where so many of my comic heroes once played,” she says.
Katie looks forward to introducing tomorrow’s five acts: Saeth Wheeler, the “rampant socialist lesbian the Daily Mail warned you all about”; Kenny Watt, Scottish export of scathing current affairs commentary; Matty Oxley, BBC New Comedy Awards semi-finalist; Tuiya Tembo, quirky, lively and brutally honest cultural observer, and John Pease, Edinburgh Fringe Gilded Balloon finalist with a touch of southern comfort.
Katie Thompson: managing director of Katie Lingo writing, content marketing, blogging and word research business, podcaster, Funny Fridays host and comedian
How would she describe her own comedy style? “I would say, very physical, loud, energetic and profane. I was very, very inspired by Rik Mayall when I was growing up. Harry Enfield, Jennifer Saunders and Helen Lederer too,” she reveals.
As it happens, she will be interviewing Helen Lederer for an upcoming episode of the My Bottom podcast.
Funny Fridays, at Patch, The Bonding Warehouse, Terry Avenue, York, tomorrow, 7pm for 7.30pm start, SOLD OUT. Age restriction: 18 plus. Tickets for June 13 can be booked at eventbrite.co.uk/e/funny-fridays-at-patch-tickets.
Tuiya Tembo: Appearing on the Funny Fridays bill at Patch tomorrow
What is Patch?
PATCH invested £900,000 to set up a 12,000 sq ft co-working space in the Bonding Warehouse, Terry Avenue, York, opening in February. This space aims to accommodate approximately 50 companies and 400 members, offering office and co-working spaces, with a focus on tech, media and education industries. Comedy and live music events are held there too.