Christmas trio with a Christmas tree: Michael McGoldrick, left, John McCusker and John Doyle looking very much at home in their promotional picture for Christmas At Hiome
MICHAEL McGoldrick, John McCusker and John Doyle’s Christmas At Home concert will be shown online by Selby Town Hall tomorrow night (16/12/2020).
The folk trio have recorded a 45-minute festive set at The Met in Bury to be “streamed into the homes of people the length and breadth of the UK, linking with venues and festivals from the Highlands of Scotland, across the sea to Belfast, and on to the far south of England”.
Best known for their work with Bob Dylan, Mark Knopfler and BBC Transatlantic Sessions, as well as prominent roles with Solas, Capercaillie and Kate Rusby, this is the first time Manchester multi-instrumentalist McGoldrick, Scottish fiddler and tin whistler McCusker and Dublin multi-instrumentalist Doyle have played a Christmas gig.
Bringing together diverse Yuletide melodies, firm favorites and traditional and contemporary songs and tunes, their magical material will range from the medieval song Curoo Curoo to John Shehan’s hauntingly beautiful melody Christchurch and a majestic rendition of O Holy Night.
John McCusker, left, Michael McGoldrick and John Doyle performing their Christmas At Home concert
Each night’s online show will be different: questions submitted from the virtual audiences of each venue and festival will be answered for the individual streaming. Please note, all ticket buyers will be given the opportunity to send in a question for their particular venue.
McGoldrick says: “We felt we wanted to connect with people at this time of year and had been looking for a way to do this. This November, we were supposed to be performing in Switzerland and the Czech Republic, and John Doyle had flown over from his home in the US.
“The tour was cancelled at short notice and so we thought, this is our chance to use the time to record something special.”
Please note, ticket sales will be split between the artists and the individual venues and festivals, “so you can be confident your purchase will not only support McGoldrick, McCusker and Doyle at Christmas, but also your local venues, promoters and festivals”.
Star performers: John McCusker, Michael McGoldrick and John Doyle
What happens now:
Go to https://myplayer.uk/christmasathome and find the Selby Town Hall date to acquire a ticket for £12. Once you have done so, you will receive an email with information on how to watch the 8pm concert in the comfort of your home. Each ticket will allow one more screening within a seven-day period. Tickets are valid for only one device at a time and cannot be shared.
Looking forward to tomorrow’s streaming, Selby Town Council arts officer Chris Jones says: “We’re delighted to ‘virtually host’ three of the biggest and best names in contemporary folk as they undertake their first ever online tour.
“Christmas folk gigs are always such a warm and joyous affair, and while it’s a real shame that we can’t be welcoming the band into the venue in person this year, I’m very happy to be able to offer the next best thing.
“Some fantastic arts centres, theatres and festivals from across the UK have joined this tour, and all of them are a vital part of our vibrant touring circuit. I hope the venues, and the brilliant artists they put on, stay strong through this pandemic crisis and we can look forward to a bright and live 2021.”
The last hurrah: Robin Ince and Laura Lexx perform the final Your Place Comedy show from their living rooms
YOUR Place Comedy returns for one last hurrah on October 25 as a Rule of Six of a different kind applies to the Yorkshire virtual comedy club.
After Mark Watson and Lucy Beaumont, Simon Brodkin and Maisie Adam, Jo Caulfield and Simon Evans, Paul Sinha and Angela Barnes, Shappi Khorsandi and Justin Moorhouse, now Robin Ince and Laura Lexx form the sixth and final double bill of headline sets, live-streamed for free from their living rooms to yours next weekend.
“Created and funded by ten small, independent venues from across Yorkshire and the Humber, the project has allowed some of our best-loved theatres and arts centres to continue presenting great performances while their doors have remain closed, with nationally acclaimed touring acts delivering unique and intimate sets, live from their own homes,” says comedy co-ordinator Chris Jones, Selby Town Council’s arts officer.
“However, as restrictions across the north of England tighten once more, both performers and venues recognise that it may be some considerable time before live events can be held safely, at a capacity which makes them financially viable.”
Reflecting on Your Place Comedy’s six-of-the-best run of remote shows in lockdown and beyond, and now into these “Not a full lockdown but…” times, Chris says: “Our virtual comedy club has provided a fantastic opportunity for venues to explore new ways of providing entertainment to their audiences.
Robin Ince: Melding ideas on art, literature, music and science
“We’ve presented virtual gigs from the kind of acts who, in normal times, might be appearing on stages across the region, enabling performers to innovate and adapt to a style of delivery that may be with us for good, as well as to earn some vital income.”
Looking ahead to next Sunday’s double bill, Chris says: “I’m thrilled that Robin and Laura have agreed to headline our final show. While Laura looks set to be one of the big stars of the next decade, having racked up a hugely impressive CV of live accolades and broadcast credits in just a few short years, Robin remains one of the most diverse and inventive acts in the business.
“He melds ideas on art, literature, music and science into some of the most brilliant and thought-provoking comedy you’re ever likely to hear.
“As always, the show remains completely free to watch, so please do come and join Laura, Robin and compere Tim FitzHigham, and help us give Your Place Comedy a grand send-off!”
Ince co-hosts the Sony Gold Award-winning BBC Radio 4 series The Infinite Monkey Cage alongside Professor Brian Cox, also co-presenting Book Shambles With Robin And Josie, a hit podcast with fellow comedian Josie Long that draws more than 100,000 listeners a month.
Laura Lexx: Comedian and author
As a stand-up, Ince has won three Chortle Awards and the Time Out Outstanding Achievement Award and was nominated for the British Comedy Awards’ Best Live Show.
Lexx has twice won Best Show at the Comedian’s Choice Awards, voted for entirely by fellow comics, and landed a coveted place in Dave’s Top Ten Jokes of the Edinburgh Fringe.
Last month, she released her first book, Klopp Actually: (Imaginary) Life With Football’s Most Sensible Heartthrob, after going viral during lockdown with her fictional Twitter thread about marriage to Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
Hosted once again by the writer and star of BBC Radio 4’s The Gambler, Tim FitzHigham, alias Pittancer of Selby, next Sunday’s double bill will be free to watch on YouTube and Twitch, with an option for viewers to donate if they have enjoyed the broadcast.
“The money raised will be used to support both the performers and the ten venues involved, all of whose livelihoods have been thrown into jeopardy with precious few opportunities to derive any meaningful income from live performances since lockdown closed venues in the middle of March,” says Chris, who programmes both Selby Town Hall and the Otley Courthouse.
Tim FitzHigham: Pittancer of Selby and regular remote host of Your Place Comedy
Taking part too in the lockdown comedy scheme have been The Ropewalk, Barton upon Humber; East Riding Theatre, Beverley, Junction, Goole; Helmsley Arts Centre; Shire Hall, Howden; Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds; Pocklington Arts Centre and Rotherham Theatres.
Reflecting on the impact of the ground-breaking Your Place Comedy scheme, Chris says: “It’s been such an enjoyable project and has evolved into something quite distinct from both TV comedy shows and live gigs: a very intimate, personal experience, more like a podcast than a raucous live show.
“It’s also provided an excellent opportunity to shine a light on the venues involved, to remind people we’re still here – even if we can’t open our doors – and to deliver entertainment to our audiences from the kind of acts who would otherwise be appearing across the region in less challenging times.”
Explaining the decision to call time on the virtual shows, Chris reasons: “Unfortunately, live-streaming is a difficult format to make financially sustainable and the project in its current form has really run its course now.
“The industry as a whole remains in a perilous position, though, and there’s still precious little work available for performers of all stripes. The venues involved will continue to work together, exploring ways in which they can support each other and the artists they miss hosting so much.”
For full details on Your Place Comedy and to find out how to watch next Sunday’s 8pm show, visit www.yourplacecomedy.co.uk.
At the double: Justin Moorhouse and Shappi Khorsandi confirmed for Your Place Comedy home service for laughter
SHAPPI Khorsandi and Justin Moorhouse will perform live from their living rooms in the fifth instalment of Your Place Comedy streamed gigs on September 27.
Their digital double bill will be the penultimate free show for the virtual comedy project, originally set up in lockdown to deliver live entertainment into the home from national touring acts who might ordinarily be taking to the stages of theatres and arts centres in Yorkshire and the Humber.
2017 I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! contestant, author and BBC 1 Question Time panellist Khorsandi, 47, has appeared frequently on Have I Got News For You, Mock The Week, QI and 8 Out Of 10 Cats, as well as BBC Radio 4’s Loose Ends, Just A Minute and The Now Show. She is the daughter of Iranian political satirist and poet Hadi Khorsandi, by the way.
Manchester United fan Moorhouse, 50, played Man City-supporting Young Kenny in both series of Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights on Channel 4, won Celebrity Mastermind and is a frequent panellist on BBC Radio 4’s News Quiz and a familiar voice on TalkSport and BBC 5Live’s Fighting Talk.
As you watch from the socially distanced comfort of your home, regular Your Place Comedy compere Tom FitzHigham, writer and star of BBC Radio 4’s The Gambler and presenter of CBBC’s Super Human Challenge, will introduce the September 27 acts from 8pm.
Humour-plated: Shappi Khorsandi dresses to fight for the right to tell jokes
The live-stream will be free to watch on YouTube and Twitch, but with an option for viewers to donate if they have enjoyed the broadcast. All money raised will be distributed equally among the ten supporting venues, none of whom has had an opportunity to derive any meaningful income from live performances since closing in the middle of March.
Set in motion by Selby Town Council arts officer Chris Jones, who runs the programming for both Selby Town Hall and Otley Courthouse, Your Place Comedy brings together the ten small, independent venues to provide a way to present performers while their doors remain closed and the future of the industry looks uncertain.
Taking part too in the project are The Ropewalk, Barton-upon-Humber; East Riding Theatre, Beverley; Junction, Goole; Helmsley Arts Centre; Shire Hall, Howden; Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds; Pocklington Arts Centre and Rotherham Theatres. Between them all, they have pledged funds to support the performers in the six shows.
Chris says: “With social distancing regulations preventing the vast majority of theatres and arts centres from operating at a profit, or in many cases even opening at all, and with no light at the end of the tunnel, venues across our region continue to look at more innovative ways of connecting with their much-missed audiences and providing work for the artists who have lost so much as a result of the pandemic crisis.
“Justin and Shappi are two of the most consistently funny and highly respected live acts on the circuit today, with nearly 50 years’ performance experience between them.
“They are perfect guests for the show format, which really provides a rather different comedy experience from that of a raucous, sold-out theatre gig. They are personal, intimate, conversational affairs…and completely free to watch. There really is no excuse not to tune in!”
News….Just in…..Moorhouse will play Your Place Comedy gig on September 27
Chris has confirmed the next Your Place Comedy show will be the last “in the current format”. “Despite a feeling of stasis – we’ve not had a live gig at Selby Town Hall since March 14 – the world has really been moving at a dizzying rate in terms of innovation in the performing arts,” he reasons.
“The current model has served us well during lockdown, but I think while audiences have been bombarded with new and exciting offerings that might offer a glimpse of the future, they are, at the same time, looking ever more longingly towards those ultimately irreplaceable live experiences they have been denied for so long.
“We need to regroup and consider how we continue delivering content with that in mind.”
Chris forewarns: “We’re keen to stress that, despite the return of schools and calls to re-populate offices, it is far from business as usual for venues or performers, and we still need the support of our much-loved audiences.
“Live activity to any meaningful degree inside venues is all but non-existent and an entire cultural ecosystem remains very much under threat.”
For full details on September 27’s Your Place Comedy and on how to watch the Khorsandi and Moorhouse double bill, go to: yourplacecomedy.co.uk.
At the double: Paul Sinha and Angela Barnes take to their living rooms for a night of comedy on August 30
YORKSHIRE virtual comedy project Your Place Comedy will return after a brief summer break to deliver a second series of live streamed shows over the next three months, re-starting with Paul Sinha and Angela Barnes.
Corralled by Selby Town Council arts officer Chris Jones, ten small, independent theatres and arts centres from God’s Own Country and the Humber are coming together again, at a time of continued uncertainty for the industry, to provide entertainment from national touring acts.
“None of the venues involved in the project are able to operate in any meaningful way under social-distancing regulations, which are in place until November at the very earliest,” says Chris.
“So we’ve decided to pull together another series of three, monthly shows that will take us up to a time when possibly, with a steady and consistent wind in the right direction, we are able to open our doors again.”
Broadcast live to viewers’ homes for free, Your Place Comedy season two will begin on Sunday, August 30 with Paul Sinha, star of ITV’s The Chase, BBC television and radio regular and one-time Grand Opera House pantomime baddie in York, and Angela Barnes, 2020 guest host of BBC Radio 4’s News Quiz and frequent Mock the Week panellist on BBC Two.
Paul Sinha: Quiz champion, panto baddie and living-room comedy act
Each will deliver a set direct from their own home to yours, with full details on how to watch the 8pm show on YouTube and Twitch at yourplacecomedy.co.uk.
“As before, viewers will have an option to make a donation if they have enjoyed the broadcast,” says Chris. “All money raised will be distributed equally among the ten supporting venues, none of which is likely to host live performances for the foreseeable future, having already been shut for over five months.”
Sinha has appeared on BBC 5 Live’s Fighting Talk and BBC Radio 4’s Just A Minute, The News Quiz, The Now Show, Loose Ends and his own Rose d’Or-winning series Paul Sinha’s History Revision, as well as on BBC Two’s QI and Dave’s Taskmaster.
“A general knowledge expert, Paul is perhaps best known as The Chase’s ‘Sinnerman’ and is also the reigning British Quizzing champion,” says Chris.
Angela Barnes, a former winner of the BBC New Comedy Award, has presented four series of BBC Radio 4 Extra’s Newsjack and has appeared on BBC Two’s Live At The Apollo.
Angela Barnes: Will she be sitting down or standing up for her Live From Her Living Room comedy set on August 30?
Both Sinha and Barnes have chalked up multiple sold-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe, and their August 30 show takes place on what would have been the 2020 festival’s closing weekend until Covid-19 played its killjoy hand.
Your Place Comedy is a venue-driven initiative that seeks to re-establish the traditional relationship between venue, performer and audience, lost temporarily during the Coronavirus crisis.
“The participating venues have all pledged funds to both support the performers involved and to provide their audiences with entertainment from the kind of artists who, in normal times, would have been appearing in their local arts centre or theatre,” says Chris, who manages both Selby Town Hall and Otley Courthouse.
Those two venues are joined in round two of the virtual venture by The Ropewalk, Barton upon Humber; Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds; East Riding Theatre, Beverley; Helmsley Arts Centre; Howden Shire Hall; Junction, Goole; Pocklington Arts Centre and Rotherham Theatres.
Looking not so jolly with his brolly: Your Place Comedy regular host Tim FitzHigham
“At the start of the pandemic, I don’t think any venues or performers envisaged that, five months in, they would be contemplating the possibility of no live performances taking place for the remainder of 2020,” says Chris.
“While we’re still unable to host live events inside our venues, the arts centres and theatres who came together to create Your Place Comedy are determined to continue delivering shows for their audiences and providing work for artists.”
Exit Edinburgh 2020, re-enter Your Place Comedy. “A big feature of the first show is that it takes place on what would have been the final Sunday of the Edinburgh Fringe,” says Chris. “Both Paul and Angela are Edinburgh stalwarts and should have been performing the last of their nearly month-long run of shows, before embarking on tours throughout autumn.
“We’re thrilled that they’ve decided to spend that time with us instead, joining us via the wonders of modern technology, keeping spirits up across Yorkshire as we look forward to a time when we can all get together again and share the joy of communal laughter.”
The August 30 event will be compered remotely once more by Tim FitzHigham, writer and star of BBC Radio 4’s The Gambler and presenter of CBBC’s Super Human Challenge. Previously, he hosted Mark Beaumont and Hull humorist Lucy Beaumont in April; prankster Simon Brodkin and Have I Got News For You panellist-in-lockdown Maisie Adam in May and BBC Radio 4 comedy stalwarts Jo Caulfield and Simon Evans in June.
Hullarious: Lucy Beaumont starred in the first lockdown Your Place Comedy night in April
SCHOLARLY comedian, author and social activist Rob Newman is remaining philosophical about having to move his Selby Town Hall gig for a second time.
After all, The Philosophy Show has sold out, whatever the Covid-shunted date, whether switching from May 16 2020 to September 11 or, now, to May 28 2021.
Should your putative 2021 diary already have an 8pm engagement pencilled in for that night, Selby Town Hall manager Chris Jones says: “We will be in touch with all ticket holders shortly. Tickets will be automatically transferred to the new date, with refunds available if you cannot make it.”
The tour publicity still invites you to “catch Rob Newman as he tries out new material for the next series of his BBC Radio 4 stand-up philosophy show Total Eclipse Of Descartes”.
Hackney-born, Cambridge-finessed Newman, 56, was part of The Mary Whitehouse Experience with David Baddiel, Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis before forming the Baddiel and Newman double act and subsequently going solo. Last year he won the Best Scripted Comedy and Best Comedy With A Live Audience gongs in the BBC Audio Drama Awards.
CHRIS McCausland is moving his Speaky Blinder show at Selby Town Hall from November 14 to April 24 2021.
“He’s blind. He’s a dad. He’s a husband. He’s third in command,” says his tour publicity. “He’ll ‘speaky’ about all of that, plus loads more nonsense in between.
“Chris McCausland is heading back out on tour, but don’t worry, he’s got somebody else doing the driving.”
McCausland has made his mark on such shows as Would I Lie To You?, Have I Got News For You, Live At The Apollo and 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
Tickets remain valid for the revised 8pm show. “We will be contacting ticket holders in the coming week,” says Selby Town Council arts officer and Selby Town Council manager Chris Jones. “If you are unable to make the new date, a full refund will be offered.”
Tickets cost £14 at selbytownhall.co.uk or £16 on the door.
Simon Evans and Jo Caulfield: Broadcasting live online from their living rooms to yours on Sunday night
JO Caulfield and Simon Evans will perform live from their living rooms on Sunday in the third edition of Yorkshire’s virtual comedy project Your Place Comedy.
Once more, Selby Town Hall is collaborating with nine other small, independent arts centres and theatres from across Yorkshire and the Humber to provide an evening of entertainment from two touring acts, broadcast live to viewers’ homes for free on YouTube and the Twitch video live streaming service.
After the 8pm online double bill hosted remotely by regular compere Tim FitzHigham, viewers will have an option to donate if they have enjoyed the broadcast. All money raised will be distributed equally among the ten supporting venues, as they each seek to navigate their way through these challenging times when closed down under the Covid-19 strictures.
It’s that Jo Caulfield again…this time entertaining on the home front
After Mark Watson and Lucy Beaumont on April 19, followed by Simon Brodkin and Maisie Adam on May 10, this weekend is the turn of a brace of BBC Radio 4 comedy stalwarts, Caulfield and Evans.
Both have appeared on BBC2’s Mock The Week and Live At The Apollo; between them, they have guested on BBC1’s Have I Got News For You and Question Time, BBC2’s Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Channel 4’s Stand Up For The Week.
They are regulars on BBC Radio 4’s The Now Show, The News Quiz, The Unbelievable Truth and Just A Minute, while Caulfield has starred in three series of her own show, It’s That Jo Caulfield Again, and Evans has written and presented five series of Simon Evans Goes To Market.
Simon Evans, above: BBC Radio 4 comedy stalwart
Host FitzHigham is the writer and star of BBC Radio 4’s The Gamble and presenter of CBBC’s Super Human Challenge.
“Your Place Comedy is a venue-driven initiative that tries to re-establish the traditional relationship between venue, performer and audience that has been temporarily lost during the Covid-19 crisis,” says organiser Chris Jones, Selby Town Council’s arts officer and manager of Selby Town Hall.
“The venues participating in the project have all pledged funds to both support the performers involved and to provide their audiences with entertainment from the kind of artists who, in normal times, would have been appearing in their local arts centre or theatre.”
Umbrella fella: Your Place Comedy host Tim FitzHigham
Chris continues: “While sadly our doors remain closed for the immediate future, this hasn’t stopped venues from across the region working hard to find new ways of delivering high-quality entertainment in innovative formats to the audiences they miss so much.
“All the theatres and arts centres involved in Your Place Comedy are deeply rooted in their communities and want to maintain those vital links that allow them to bring some of the most sought-after national and international touring acts to the towns and cities of Yorkshire and beyond. We are all determined to help keep the live performance industry afloat at a time when it has never been needed more.”
Joining together in this rolling initiative to put the fun into fundraising are Selby Town Hall; The Ropewalk, Barton upon Humber; Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds; East Riding Theatre, Beverley; Junction, Goole; Helmsley Arts Centre; Shire Hall, Howden; Otley Courthouse; Pocklington Arts Centre and Rotherham Theatres.
Simon Brodkin and Maisie Adam: The line-up for the second Your Place Comedy night on May 10
Looking forward to this weekend’s double bill, Chris says: “There’s a distinct Radio 4 vibe this time round with two stalwarts of the network, and two of the slickest, most accomplished and effortlessly funny acts around, Jo Caulfield and Simon Evans, taking to the virtual stage. Both Jo and Simon have sold out Selby Town Hall before.
“In a fit of nostalgia the other day, I was thinking back to the first time I ever saw a live stand-up show…and I’m certain it was Simon Evans, performing as part of the Carlsberg Ice Comedy Network at the University of York in late 2000. I can still remember the gags – and that doesn’t happen very often! He was brilliant.”
What’s next for Your Place Comedy? “We’ll stop and take stock after this show, see what lessons small venues in the region can take from the exercise and whether there is a financially viable future in live streaming that supports artists, venues and audiences as this [venue closure] predicament inevitably runs into the autumn and beyond,” says Chris, who initially had speculated on the possibility of a run of five such shows.
Hull comedian and actor Lucy Beaumont: Her Your Place Comedy double bill with Mark Watson in April drew 3,500 viewers and raised £3,500 in donations
For full details on Your Place Comedy, and to find out how to watch the June 7 show, visit yourplacecomedy.co.uk.
Sunday service: The stream team of Simon Brodkin and Maisie Adam, delivering comedy to your living room
PRANKSTER Simon Brodkin and Have I Got News For You panellist-in-lockdown Maisie Adam form the second Your Place Comedy double bill on Sunday.
The 8pm show will be streamed live from their living rooms to yours, looking to build on the success of the April 19 launch, when more than 3,500 people tuned in to watch Mark Watson, Hull comedian Lucy Beaumont and compere Tim FitzHigham.
Chris Jones, Selby Town Council’s arts officer and manager of Selby Town Hall, is again co-ordinating this weekend’s online fundraising show, working in tandem with nine other small, independent arts centres and theatres from across Yorkshire and the Humber during the Covid-19 shutdown.
Brodkin and Adam’s show will be free to watch on YouTube and the Twitch video live streaming service, with an option for viewers to donate if they have enjoyed the broadcast. All money raised will be distributed equally among the supporting venues, each being faced with navigating their way through these challenging Coronavirus days.
Compere Tim FitzHigham and a pyjama-clad Mark Watson on screen during the inaugural Your Place Comedy online broadcast
Joining together in this rolling initiative to put the fun into fundraising are Selby Town Hall; The Ropewalk, Barton upon Humber; Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds; East Riding Theatre, Beverley; Junction, Goole; Helmsley Arts Centre; Shire Hall, Howden; Otley Courthouse; Pocklington Arts Centre and Rotherham Theatres.
“In a nutshell, at a time of huge uncertainty and upheaval in the Coronavirus lockdown, including for the live entertainment industry, I got these venues from around Yorkshire and the Humber to come together to provide our audiences with some much-needed laughter during these difficult times, each chipping in a small amount of money to put on each live stream,” says Chris, who was up until 4am on Tuesday morning putting everything in place for Sunday’s gig.
“Their contributions to Your Place Comedy go towards paying the artists a guaranteed fee at a time when all live income has been taken away, and, in exchange, venues get a show to sell to their own audiences as one of their own, helping maintain those vital relationships with audiences they have nurtured over the years.”
Watson and Beaumont’s April show raised £3,500 in donations for the venues. “We were overwhelmed by the response to our first ever broadcast,” says a delighted Chris, who was interviewed about Your Place Comedy on BBC 5 Live on Tuesday.
Prescient move: Simon Brodkin handed a P45 to Theresa May at Tory party conference
“The fantastic audiences, who are the absolute lifeblood of the ten venues involved in this project, watched and donated in their droves. Drawing more than 3,500 viewers was considerably more than the venues’ combined capacities, so the show went even better than we had imagined, to say the whole project was put together from scratch in the space of two weeks by three people with no live streaming experience.”
Come Sunday, compere Tim FitzHigham, writer and star of BBC Radio 4’s The Gambler and presenter of CBBC’s Super Human Challenge, will introduce Brodkin and Adams’s sets from their homes, from his.
Prankster and character comedian Brodkin, 42, is best known for his alter-ego Lee Nelson and, latterly, as the man who handed Prime Minister Theresa May a P45 during the 2017 Conservative Party Conference. North Yorkshire-born comedian, writer and actor Adam, 26, has made her mark on Have I Got News For You, Mock The Week and 8 Out Of 10 Cats and appears regularly at the Harrogate Comedy Festival.
“It’s a distinctly different style line-up to the first show,” says Chris. “Simon is a truly fascinating performer. A former doctor turned character comic, he’s reinvented himself as one of the best pranksters the UK has ever seen. Listening to him spill the beans on how those daring exploits are pulled off is remarkably compelling.
One giant leap for Maisie Adam: From Pannal to the Have I Got News For You panel
“Maisie is destined to be omnipresent on our TV screens. Originally from Pannal, just outside Harrogate, she played her first ever gig at Otley Labour Club in 2016. She’s since had a pretty meteoric rise, winning the best new act competition in the country, So You Think You’re Funny?, in 2017; being nominated as Best Newcomer in the Edinburgh Comedy Awards a year later, and now appearing regularly on prime-time panel shows.”
Maisie, a former head girl at St Aidan’s School in Harrogate, appeared from her home in Brighton on last Friday’s home-alone edition of BBC One’s long-running satirical quiz show, Have I Got News For You, partnering team captain Ian Hislop.
Reflecting on the comedic impact of the first show, Chris says: “Both Mark Watson and Lucy Beaumont were fantastic. Mark is relatively experienced when it comes to live streaming and was comfortable enough with the format to perform in his pyjamas.
“For Lucy, it was a first foray into ‘audience-free’ comedy, but her set was pitch perfect – even featuring a rather bizarre bedtime story! – and broadcast live from the pub that her husband, [comedian] Jon Richardson, has built in their house.”
Lucy Beaumont: A “pitch-perfect set, even featuring a rather bizarre bedtime story”
How did the format work, Chris? “We were very aware that one of the limitations of live streamed comedy was a lack of audience interaction, so we devised a function that allowed viewers to send messages directly to the acts,” he says.
“This worked incredibly well and really gave the show that extra feeling of intimacy and warmth that you get from watching comedy in a small venue environment.”
Before the April 19 debut gig, Chris had said: “If the first one is a success and this looks like a sustainable model, I would hope to do several more through the lockdown period and possibly beyond.”
Now he is projecting an initial run of five shows. “We hope that, for as long as our doors have to remain closed, we can continue to connect with audiences and bring them big laughs from some of the UK’s best performers through the Your Place Comedy project,” he says.
“At a time when so many life-affirming social connections have been lost, and a great number of performers have had their livelihoods taken away overnight, it is brilliant to be able to support artists, audiences and independent venues in this way.”
For full details on Your Place Comedy, and to find out how to watch the show, visit yourplacecomedy.co.uk.
Stream team: Your Place Comedy compere Tim FitzHigham, left, and a pyjama-clad Mark Watson on screen during April 19’s online gig
REASONS to be cheerful part one. The first Your Place Comedy night, streamed live from Mark Watson and Lucy Beaumont’s living rooms to yours, was a big success.
Compered by Tim FitzHigham, Sunday’s online fundraiser for ten small, independent northern venues in Coronavirus shutdown drew more than 3,500 viewers.
“That’s
considerably more than their combined capacities,” says a delighted event
co-ordinator Chris Jones, Selby Town Council’s arts officer, who manages the Selby
Town Hall arts centre.
“The show
went even better than we had imagined, to say the whole project was put
together from scratch in the space of two weeks by three people with no live
streaming experience!”
Reasons to be cheerful part two. “The show was free to watch on Facebook and YouTube, with an option to donate. We received £3,500 in donations, which will now be split between the venues,” says Chris.
Joining
together in this rolling initiative to put the fun into fundraising are Selby
Town Hall; The Ropewalk, Barton upon Humber; Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds; East
Riding Theatre, Beverley; Junction, Goole; Helmsley Arts Centre; Shire Hall,
Howden; Otley Courthouse; Pocklington Arts Centre and Rotherham Theatres.
“In a
nutshell, I was frustrated that the traditional relationship between venue,
artist and audience – the venue providing the artist with income and the
audience with entertainment – has been has been eroded for the foreseeable
future by Covid-19 and I wanted to find a way to re-create that,” says Chris.
“So, at a
time of huge uncertainty and upheaval in the Coronavirus lockdown, including
for the live entertainment industry, I got these venues from around Yorkshire
and the Humber to come together to provide our audiences with some much-needed
laughter during these difficult times, each chipping in a small amount of money
to put on Sunday’s live stream.
Lucy Beaumont: “Rather bizarre bedtime story”
“Their contributions
to Your Place Comedy go towards paying the artists a guaranteed fee at a time when
all live income has been taken away, and, in exchange, venues get a show to
sell to their own audiences as one of their own, helping maintain those vital
relationships with audiences they have nurtured over the years.”
Reasons to be cheerful part three. “Both Lucy and Mark were fantastic. Mark is relatively experienced when it comes to live streaming and was comfortable enough with the format to perform in his pyjamas,” says Chris.
“For Lucy,
it was a first foray into ‘audience-free’ comedy, but her set was pitch perfect
– even featuring a rather bizarre bedtime story!
– and broadcast live from the pub that her husband, [comedian] Jon
Richardson, has built in their house.”
How did
the format work, Chris? “We were very aware that one of the limitations of live
streamed comedy was a lack of audience interaction, so we devised a function that
allowed viewers to send messages directly to the acts,” he says.
“This
worked incredibly well and really gave the show that extra feeling of intimacy
and warmth that you get from watching comedy in a small venue environment.”
Before
Sunday’s inaugural show, Chris said: “If the first one is a success and this
looks like a sustainable model, I would hope to do several more through the
lockdown period and possibly beyond.”
Reasons to be cheerful part four. “We’re now planning a second show, tentatively scheduled for Sunday, May 3, with two new acts on the bill,” he says. “Watch this space.” Then watch www.yourplacecomedy.co.uk when the line-up is confirmed.
Should you still be wondering what exactly was Hull humorist Lucy Beaumont’s “rather bizarre bedtime story”…..no, you should have been watching!
Suhail Yusuf Khan , left, JonThorne and James Yorkston: new album, new tour date in Selby
YORKSTON Thorne
Khan, the first gig at Selby Town Hall to fall foul of the Covid-19 shutdown
last month, has been re-arranged for November 24.
Tickets
for the postponed March 20 show remain valid for the new date, with further
tickets still on sale at selbytownhall.co.uk.
Yorkston Thorne
Khan are Scottish songwriter James Yorkston (guitar, nyckelharpa, voice); Bishop’s
Storford jazz musician Jon Thorne (double
bass, voice) and Delhi-born eighth generation sarangi player and vocalist
Suhail Yusuf Khan.
The trio will be touring in support of their third album, Navarasa: Nine Emotions, a January 24 release on Domino Recordings that followed 2016 debut Everything Sacred and 2017’s Neuk Wight Delhi All-Stars after they first met by chance backstage in 2015 and played together ever since.
On the latest recording, they tackle Robert Burns and Sufi poetry, via Dick Gaughan and Amir Khusrow Dehlavi, traditional Scottish songs, ragas and their own spidery compositions.
At the heart of Yorkston Thorne Khan’s transporting new album is the subcontinent’s navarasa: the nine (nava) emotions or sentiments (rasa) of the arts. This “unifying underpinning” is a centuries-old organising principle, wherein the individual artistic emotions range from Shringara (love, beauty), through Hasya (laughter, mirth, comedy), Raudra (anger), Karuna (sorrow, compassion or mercy), Bibhatsya (disgust), Bhayanaka (horror, terror), Veera (heroism, courage), Adbutha (surprise, wonder), to Shanta (peace, tranquillity).
The artwork for Yorkston Thorne Khan’s Navarasa: Nine Emotions
Each song is connected to one of these emotions; for example Westlin
Winds is paired with Adbutha, opening with the life-destroying Act I of Robert
Burns’s poem Now Westlin Winds (And Slaught’ring Guns).
Then it deliciously transplants its disjoined, nature-extolling and
life-affirming Act II on to Indian soil with a composition in Purbi, a dialect
of old Hindi. “I learnt the song by listening to various qawwali [Muslim
devotional song] singers singing at Hazrat Nizammuddin’s dargah [shrine] in
Delhi,” says Khan. “Its source is Hazrat Amir Khusrau.”
In this way, Yorkston Thorne Khan unite one of the key spiritual
visionaries and architects of Hindustani art music, the poet-philosopher Hazrat
Amir Khusrau, with the key literary visionary of Scottish culture, Robert
Burns.
This bricolage of diverse cross-cultural elements is apparent across Navarasa:
Nine Emotions. Yorkston weaves in
Scottish folk, sangster and literary strands; Thorne is grounded in jazz and
groove. Then add New Delhi-based Khan’s feast of northern Indian classical,
light classical and Sufi devotional musical and literary influences. “What
binds these diverse musical strands together is a dark happiness,” says
Yorkston.
Looking forward to the re-arranged show in the autumn, Selby Town Hall manager Chris Jones says: “Sadly James, Jon and Suhail’s show was the first in our calendar to fall victim to the lockdown. They are such a phenomenally talented trio, and the feedback I had heard from the early gigs on their tour was amazing, so it was desperately disappointing not to be able to give the Selby audience that experience.
“Thankfully
though, we’ve been able to reschedule the show for November 24, and this is
definitely one that’s worth waiting for.”
