The Last Laugh Comedy Club – 9 January 2016, Sheffield
Happy new year and for me the new year meant attending a new comedy club for me with new people and new comedians, The Last Laugh Comedy Club at Memorial Hall, Sheffield. And there was another New Year tradition that I didn’t expect, with tickets in the sale for £10, rather than the usual price of £16 (£10 NUS).
20 years old and taking place every Friday and Saturday night, The Last Laugh is Sheffield’s oldest comedy club, with each gig featuring a compere and three comedians, followed by a cheesy disco, with two bars open and food available.
Starting with an uplifting cover of “Common People” (my boyfriend’s favourite Pulp track “Disco 2000 made an appearance later in the evening), the gig was kicked off by compere for the evening Toby Foster, the club’s regular compere, but best known as Les in “Phoenix Nights” and presenting the breakfast show on BBC Radio Sheffield. With a hatred of traffic police and Vanessa Feltz, Toby’s comedy is aggressive and Northern and he likes picking on the audience, making us grateful we weren’t on the first row of tables.
Toby was joined on the night by awarding winning and “Mock the Week” and “Live at the Apollo” appearing comedian Nathan Caton, who I immediately warmed to as he lives one tube stop away from my first home (I wasn’t the audience member who booed this fact). Nathan is a natural and hilarious storyteller whose comedy smoothly flowed from stool samples to terrorism whilst reassuring those who still live at home that it’s okay and that all parents and siblings are embrassing.
Next up was Irish comedian charmer Andrew Stanley, who has a reputation for delivering observational material with comic timing, and didn’t let us down with his important lessons in best man speeches. However what really won our hearts was his natural ability to put the audience at ease whilst obtaining comedic material from them, including a Spanish lady and the policeman three weeks into their relationship.
Providing the musical element of the evening was comedy songwriter satirist and off the wall Liverpudlian comic Steve Gribbin, whose set comprised of short (and slightly sick) covers of classic tracks giving his views of some of the major news stories of the last few years, before making us grateful we don’t share his love life “50 shades of off white”.
Alongside regular compere Toby Foster, comedians performing at The Last Laugh over the next few months will include Paul Sinha, Barry Castagnola, Dave Fulton, Andrew Bird, Debra Jane Appelby, Rob Rouse, Milo McCabe, Nina Giligan, Steve Shanyaski, Jojo Smith, John Scott, Damian Clark, Johnny Candon, Daliso Chaponda, Sol Bernstien, Barry Dodds, Steve Williams, Keith Carter as NIGE, Seymour Mace, Duncan Oakley, Jim Smallman, Keith Farnan, Lloyd Langford, Bobby Sparkler, Mat Reed, Dave Longley, Eddy Brimson, Allyson Smith, Rory O’ Hanlon, Johnny Awsum, Martin Mor, Sofie Hagen and Jamie Sutherland, with more comedians to be confirmed.
To book tickets telephone 0114 221 0317. If you are booking for a group of 20 or more you will get five tickets free.