The Frog and Bucket’s Valentine’s Day Special featured a selection of comedians from across the country and the audience was diverse too, with couples having travelled as far as Cumbria.
Hosted by Oldham-born Mick Ferry, who is clearly an experienced and in-demand compere, we knew we were in for a good night as he got to know those in the close vicinity of the stage and made everyone feel at ease, unless they heckled.
First, was North Lancashire-born Dan Nightingale, who recently won Best Act at the North West Comedy Awards, who was the highlight for me (equal to Mick) with his routine around life: stag do antics with his brother-in-law and a group or more common and slightly less-intellectual men, the recollection of a gig in South Kensington and how it compares with home, and the C word...Cancer, and the other one. He is straight, married but camp on (many) occasions and impresses with his relaxed intellectuality.
Pete Selwood (Lawrence Batley New Yorkshire Comic of the Year) from Chester was next, briefly, and his act is also clever in that it is personal in that he seems to read the minds of the audience because of an element of his body that is different..
Lauren Pattison from the North East (Newcastle) was the only female act on the bill (not the TV series) and states that she moved to London to pursue a career in comedy full-time. Sadly the role of a comedian - if ever there was a need, being probably the only one who worked for them - in Boots is different from performing to an audience where you are in control, as she found through her time with the company. She also mentioned her family’s funniosities.
Josh Howie, the son of legendary PR guru Lynne Franks, who inspired Jennifer Saunders’ character Edina in Absolutely Fabulous. Raised as a Buddhist this ex-public schoolboy then trained as a Rabbi before being kicked off the programme for being caught with a naked (non-Jewish) girl, who started his own PR firm when he was just 16, received critical acclaim for writing and directing a short film for Channel 4, and has had a number of senior roles in music video production companies, was the final act and his style wasn’t for everyone. Crude and personal, a female couple made it known that they were leaving because of his content and he did struggle to rescue it from that point. I suppose his own diversity has influenced his routine and I commend that and did find some of his jokes funny, if abstract and unnecessary.
Overall, a welcome night’s entertainment enjoyed by the masses as it was sold out and it is no surprise. As part of the Thursday Night Live programme, we will certainly be back soon to see who else can tickle our funny bones.
Reviewer - John Kristof
on - 14/2/19
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