Emma Ashley finds something for everyone at Woking Gag House Comedy, a new monthly comedy night that aims to bring the best and most varied acts on the circuit to the H.G. Wells Conference Centre
It wasn’t necessarily going to be easy, transforming a hall intended for conferences and award ceremonies into a comedy club. Nevertheless, the organisers of the Woking Fringe Festival did an impressive job with the layout; on walking into the room, you immediately got a feel for what the night was about.
The intimate charm of a classic comedy club could have been lost on such a large room, but with plenty of candlelit tables and audience members happy to participate, there was a wonderful atmosphere. Enigmatic compere Paul F Taylor kicked off the evening to a successful start, and throughout the evening offered relevant observations, anecdotes and one liners. Along with Paul, there were three wonderfully unique and entertaining acts.
First was an energetic set from Abi Roberts (right). There were smiles all round as the audience enjoyed her tales from student days and dating, which illustrated that perhaps we have more in common with strangers than we first think! Also watch out for her hilarious Marge Simpson and Liam Neeson impressions, as well as a Shakespearean recitation of Blurred Lines. Abi is simply a delight and watch, and so incredibly likeable.
Mark Silcox took to the stage next, with great onstage presence and a genius wit. Though it took some of the audience a little while to understand his style, he provided a perfect combination of observations on the room and some wonderful prepared material that demonstrated real confidence – trust me and watch him, all will become clear. These two elements of his set were joined, as he himself pointed out, `seamlessly`. Intelligent and funny, by the end of his set he had the audience in stitches and also managed to provide a lecture on the fourth wall.
Headlining was the energetic and musically charismatic Richard Morton, who brought plenty of topical jokes, tales from the North, and references for the locals to enjoy (and judging by the laughter these were greatly appreciated). Richard has the perfect combination of tales, interaction with the audience and songs. This included a wonderful song about the Royal Family where audience participation was hard to resist, and a wonderful impression of how 60s and 70s rock bands should sound in their old age instead of still appearing to be 30-40 years younger. Put simply, Martin is an awful lot of fun and raised a lot of cheer for a chilly October night.
Overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable and hilarious evening. The thing I will always treasure about nights like this is the variety of acts. It's always good to know that there's something for everyone. I don't know what the future holds for Woking Fringe, but I am sure after the effort and care that has been put into tonight it will be nothing but great.
The next Woking Gag House comedy club takes place on November 28, with the following fantastic acts lined up: David Jesudason, Luke Benson, Tania Edwards and Wayne Deakin
For more information, and a wonderful video of Richard Morton on the night, visit the website
