ESSEX comedian and stroke survivor Markus Birdman headlines Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club’s two shows on Saturday at The Basement, City Screen Picturehousen, York.
Joining him on the 5pm and 8pm bills will be Tal Davies, Hasan Al-Habib and promoter/master of ceremonies Damion Larkin.
Noted for his physicality, timing and topicality, Birdman was a 2001 finalist in the BBC New Comedy Awards, has appeared on Channel 9 TV in Australia, plays London’s Comedy Store and major UK comedy clubs and has headlined the Avalon comedy network.
He has headed up to the Edinburgh Fringe for 15 summers, presenting The Bearable Heaviness Of Nearly Not Being in 2022, and is a graffiti artist, muralist, performance poet and Glastonbury Festival poetry slam champion too.
In 2022, he suffered a stroke and ended up with a platinum heart, the subject of his Platinum Tour show. This year he was a semi-finalist on Britain’s Got Talent.
On the circuit since 2019, emerging comedian and writer Tal Davies was crowned Best Breakthrough Act at the 2021 Midlands Comedy Awards and was a Funny Women semi-finalist too, as well as being shortlisted for the BBC New Comedy Award.
BBC WritersRoom invited her to be part of the 2021 Coventry Voices programme, and the strength of her writing can be seen on stage, where she balances toe-curling anecdotes with dry observational humour, delivered with a warm stage presence and a deadpan Brummie accent.
Hasan Al-Habib was born to Iraqi parents who “decided Baghdad wasn’t dangerous enough and so moved to Birmingham”.
Starting stand-up at university, he took his 2019 show FootDarks to the Edinburgh Fringe, since when he has performed around the country and opened for comedians Ken Cheng, Fern Brady, Ahir Shah, Adam Hess and Sara Barron.
Tickets cost £19 at https://lolcomedyclubs.co.uk or £23 on the door, subject to availability.
* Laugh Out Loud’s next Basement shows will be on New Year’s Eve (31/12/2023) at 4pm and 7pm. Tickets: £25 in advance; £30 on the door, subject to availability.