Ealing Comedy Festival 2005

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Big names in the big top, 16th - 22nd July

 

Ha Bloody Ha and Ealing Council present

The Ealing Comedy Festival

Saturday 16 July - Friday 22 July

Walpole Park, Mattock Lane, Ealing W5 5EQ

 

Get ready as once again we pitch our Big Top in Walpole Park for six nights of the best stand-up the UK has to offer.   The Ealing Comedy Festival, now in its twelfth year, offers a unique alfresco experience in a venue the size of a theatre but with the lively atmosphere of a club.

 

The festival regularly sees sell-out performances from some of the biggest names in comedy and this year is no exception.   Tickets are on sale now, so get in early to make sure you're part of the fun, frivolity and big belly laughs that the following line-up is guaranteed to deliver.

 

SATURDAY 16 JULY

Bob Mills and Jason Byrne

plus The Spectacular Steve Rawlings and Jo Caulfield

 

Bob Mills turned the establishment on its head with his brand of laddish, irreverent stand-up when he burst onto the scene.   He's still revered for his performance in the cult hit In Bed with Medinner (which he co-wrote).

 

Jason Byrne's inspired lunacy ensures that there's no other comedian like him.   This fast-taking Irishman unleashes a freewheeling, helter-skelter of a show.   High-energy, unpredictable and unmatchable comedy at its best.

 

They are supported by Steve Rawlings's compelling mix of skill and comedy, juggling furniture, bowling balls and flaming torches; and Jo Caulfield's razor-sharp tongue.

 

SUNDAY 17 JULY

Rich Hall, Mike Wilmot and Otis Lee Crenshaw

 

Grouchy, deadpan comic genius Rich Hall is a master of absurdist irony, with his quickfire rants on David Letterman's show winning him an Emmy.   He shares the bill with his uncle, Otis Lee Crenshaw - hear the redneck jailbird perform his touching compositions �Bag Lady, Let's Make Love� and �Do What You Like to the Girl (But Don't Touch Me)�.

 

They are joined by Mike Wilmot, a straightforward, no-nonsense, white-bread sort of guy.   He's a man who knows what he wants - and what he wants is beer and sex.

This grizzly Canadian's hard-hitting, effortless style has made him one of the best nightclub comics in the world.

 

TUESDAY 19 JULY

Mick Miller

plus Boothby Graffoe and Andrew Maxwell

 

A performance from the comedy veteran who shot to fame in the 1980s on The Comedians alongside Frank Carson and Stan Boardman.   From the slick and topical to the downright daft, he's currently wowing a whole new generation, following his appearance on Channel 4's Kings of Comedy - two co-stars of which support him tonight.  

 

Boothby Graffoe's blend of sharp, well-honed one-liners, surreally silly diversions, and delightfully whimsical musical numbers is winning him a legion of fans around the world.   Meanwhile the riotous Andrew Maxwell is a bright young comic with a gift for improvisation.   He'll keep you rapt with his accessible topical comedy, Irish charm and laddish banter.

 

WEDNESDAY 20 JULY

Paul Zerdin

plus The Raymond & Mr Timkins Revue, Ricky Grover and MC Tim Clark

 

Paul Zerdin is an incredible ventriloquist - hugely entertaining and technically perfect.   If you haven't seen Paul and his ginger sidekick Sam stealing the show at a Royal Variety Performance or headlining a night at The Comedy Store, this is your chance to see his act.

 

Zerdin is joined on a rich bill by two festival favourites:   the splendidly silly musical punsters The Raymond & Mr Timkins Revue, attempting to blow away their third Ealing Comedy Festival; and boxer/hairdresser turned actor/stand-up and star of TV's �Orrible, Ricky Grover.

 

The show is hosted by accomplished Comedy Store MC, Tim Clark.

 

THURSDAY 21 JULY

Jeff Green, Paul Zenon and Rainer Hersch

 

With a Perrier Award nomination, sell-out tours of the UK and Australia, a long list of TV credits and two best-selling books, Jeff Green is one of the UK's most popular comics.   His razor-sharp observations combined with an abundant natural charm have marked him out as one of the brightest talents on the comedy scene.

 

Alongside Jeff is Paul Zenon, one of Britain's leading magicians - and funny with it. A consummate showman, his slick, bulletproof set never fails as he nimbly leaps from one impressive trick to the next.   Rainer Hersch completes the bill - the world's only classical music comedian who needs nothing more than a piano and his unfailingly entertaining wit to leave you desperate for more.

 

FRIDAY 22 JULY

The Ealing Comedy Festival Gala Night

Following the hugely successful format from 2003 and back by popular demand, we close this year's festival with another feast of great comedy, with no less than eight of the best comics from the circuit.  

 

Among the many top names vying for your appreciation will be TV's Gina Yashere, Richard Herring, the don of black comedy Curtis Walker, Sean Meo, Phoenix Nights' Jo Enright, John Fothergill and Bennett Aaron - compered by Simon Amstell from Channel 4's Popworld.

 

PERFORMANCE TIMES

Festival bar open: 7pm

First act on stage: 8pm

 

TICKET PRICES

All tickets: £14

A £1.50 booking fee per ticket applies on all credit or debit card transactions.

Over 18s only.   No concessions, refunds or exchanges.

 

HOW TO BOOK

Call 020 8825 6277

Mon - Fri 10am - 6pm   Sat 11am - 4pm

 

The box office is open for personal callers for payment by cash, cheque or credit or debit card on Wednesdays 10am - 4pm

Room G.08, Ealing Town Hall, New Broadway, London W5 2BY

 

For general information call 020 8825 6640 or log on to www.ealing.gov.uk/ealingsummer

 

TRAVEL INFORMATION

Walpole Park, Mattock Lane, Ealing W5 5EQ

Tube - Ealing Broadway (District Line, Central Line)

         - South Ealing (Piccadilly Line)

 

Train - Ealing Broadway

 

Bus - 65, 83, 112, 207, 297, 427, 607, E1, E2, E7, E8, E9, E10, E11, PR1

 

Car - Limited paid parking is available at Grove Road and Springbridge Road multi-storey car parks, and behind Ealing Town Hall after 5pm on weekdays and all day at weekends.

 

May 23rd 2005