Preview: Lost Voice Guy at The Witham Arts Centre

HEARD THE ONE ABOUT THE COMEDIAN WHO CAN'T SPEAK?

Lost Voice Guy

The Witham Arts Centre

Saturday 18 July

The winner of the 2014 BBC New Comedy Award is to perform at the first ever Barnard Castle Comedy Festival. 

Lost Voice Guy - real name Lee Ridley - will bring his brand new stand-up show, Disability For Dunces, to The Witham Arts Centre on Saturday 18 July ahead of a month-long run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a child, the award-winning comic performs stand-up using an iPad and is the first comedian to use a communication aid on stage.

Lost Voice Guy Lee Ridley - Photo: Caroline Briggs

Ridley's show, which takes place at 1.30pm, marks his first ever appearance in Barnard Castle as he teams up with stand-up stars Tony Law and Alex Horne for the inaugural comedy festival in Teesdale. 

Speaking ahead of the show, Ridley said: "My show at the Barnard Castle Comedy Festival is about all the stupid questions I get asked by the general public on an all too regular basis.

"Stuff like; can you really not talk? Have you considered an exorcism? Are you just in it for the parking? Have you ever tried talking just to see what happens? How do you have sex? Seriously, can you not talk at all?

"I’ve decided to answer them all once and for all. Think of it as being like a disabled FAQ for dummies (…or dunces - for legal reasons!)."

Described by Matt Lucas as 'a wonderful comedian', Lost Voice Guy is one of the most talked about acts in comedy.

His material is profoundly positive: if someone with no voice can become a successful stand-up, then anyone can achieve anything if they put their mind to it.

Since making his comedy debut three years ago, Ridley has performed all over the UK at venues including The Stand, Jongleurs, The Frog and Bucket, The Glee Club and The Comedy Store.

His unique act has been featured in The Guardian, BBC, CNN, The Sun and The Mail on Sunday.

Festival Director Peter Dixon said: "In programming the festival day we have been striving to bring the very best comedy talent to Barnard Castle. 

"Lost Voice Guy follows in the footsteps of Lucy Beaumont and Steve Bugeja, who have each produced fantastic shows for us, as the current holder of the BBC New Comedy Award. 

"Recognised by critics, fellow comic and audiences alike, Lost Voice Guy is one of the most original, refreshing and funny comics to arrive on the comedy scene in recent years."

The Barnard Castle Comedy Festival is organised by Teesdale comedy promoters Funny Way To Be.

On The Web

Website: www.barnardcastlecomedy.com.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/barnardcastlecomedyfestival

Twitter: twitter.com/BarneyComFest

Tickets:

The Comedy Festival takes place on Saturday 18 July 2015 at The Witham arts centre on Horsemarket.

Shows will run from 12pm until late, with Lost Voice Guy's show taking place at 1.30pm.

Earlybird day tickets for the festival are on sale now, priced £45.

Barnard Castle Comedy Festival Shows

·        12pm - 1pm TBA

·        1.30pm - 2.30pm Lost Voice Guy: Disability For Dunces

·        3pm - 4pm Tony Law: Nonsense In Progress

·        4.30pm - 5.30pm TBA

·        6pm - 7pm TBA

·        8.30pm - 10.30pm Alex Horne: Monsieur Butterfly

DATE: Saturday 18 July 2015

VENUE: The Witham, 3 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, Durham

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Peculiar Disco Moves recently appeared with Lost Voice Guy at The Tyne Theatre and Opera House in Newcastle on the "Smile For A Night" charity event. 

Preview: Funny Way To Be Comedy Club Spring 2015 Season

Spring Comedy In

Barnard Castle

Teesdale’s Funny Way To Be Comedy Club have announced details of their 2015 comedy programme in Barnard Castle.

Based at the recently-refurbished Witham arts centre, the new comedy programme runs from January until March and features some of the funniest men and women in the UK, including the big success story of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Best Newcomer winner Alex Edelman.

The new season, programmed by Barnard Castle resident Peter Dixon, officially gets underway on Saturday 10 January, with a headline appearance from award-winning comedian Lucy Beaumont.

Beaumont has a clutch of awards to her name. She’s a 2014 Foster’s Best Newcomer nominee, winner of the BBC New Comedy Award in 2012, and a former Chortle Award winner for Best Newcomer. In 2013, Lucy appeared on series two of Live At The Electric on BBC Three, and has recently been commissioned to produce her own show for BBC Radio 4, To Hull and Back. Rising stars Katie Mulgrew and Hayley Ellis complete the bill in a night featuring three of the most exciting female comics in the UK today.

Alex Edelman

Next up in Teesdale is the 2014 Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer, USA comedian Alex Edelman. The 25-year-old from Boston is the next big thing in comedy. Fresh, original, and endearing, with each performance Edelman continues to prove himself to be one of the world's most promising upcoming comedians. He joins Australian sensation Felicity Ward, one-liner comedian Peter Brush and Chortle Student Comedian of the Year Jamila Maddix in Barnard Castle on Saturday 7 February.

Tony Law

On Saturday 28 February, we welcomes alternative comedy hero Tony Law to the region. The cheerfully absurd humour that Law knocks around into a jazzy, freeform shape has endeared him to both live and TV audiences in the UK and abroad. Law has made appearances on Charlie Brooker's Screen Wipe, Sue Perkins' sitcom Heading Out and Have I Got News For You, and is now a regular on TV panel shows Never Mind The Buzzcocks and 8 Out Of 10 Cats.

Funny Way To Be’s final spring show sees two festival favourites bring their latest shows to the region. Ray Peacock will perform an abridged version of his critically-acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe show, Here Comes Trouble, while Leicester Comedy Festival Best Show winner Ahir Shah is not to be missed. Ray and Ahir are at The Witham on Saturday 28 March.

 

Felicity Ward

Peter Dixon, of Funny Way To Be, said: "With the announcement of the new year season we now have ten stand up comedy shows programmed until the end of March 2015.  We have continued our commitment to bring the very best comedians, with a programme providing shows to suit all sorts of tastes, to rural Barnard Castle.  In this season we have comics from the USA, Australia and Canada providing a real international flavour."

Tony Law

To complement the more high-profile shows in the calendar, the Teesdale comedy club have also announced details of three bargain mid-week shows set to feature the stand-up stars of tomorrow.

With tickets only a fiver, Teesdale comedy fans can see cult comedian Silky (19 November), BBC New Comedy Award winner Steve Bugeja (21 January) and Chris Ramsey tour support Carl Hutchinson (11 March) for less than the cost of a pint in London.

Peter added: “For audiences it's a chance to come along and see a top quality professional show with an intimate friendly setting without spending a fortune. It is ideal for both regular comedy fans as well as people who is thinking about coming along to see a live comedy show for the first time.”

Tickets:

·        

     Wednesday 29 October: Lee Nelson: Suited & Booted work-in-progress, £17.50, 7.30pm

·        Wednesday 19 November: Silky, with support, £5, 8.00pm

·        Saturday 29 November: Susan Calman: Lady Like, £14/£12 concessions, 8pm

·        Saturday 13 December: Romesh Ranganathan and Suzi Ruffell, £12/£10 concessions, 8.00pm

·        Saturday 10 January: Northern Ladies - Lucy Beaumont, Katie Mulgrew & Hayley Ellis, 8.00pm

·        Wednesday 21 January: Steve Bugeja, with support, £5, 8.00pm

·        Saturday 7 February: Alex Edelman, Felicity Ward, Jamali Maddix and Peter Brush, £10 advanced/ £12 on the door, 8.00pm.

·        Saturday 28 February: Tony Law, £12 advanced/ £14 on the door, 8.00pm.

·        Wednesday 11 March: Carl Hutchinson, with support, £5, 8.00pm.

·        Saturday 28 March: Ray Peacock & Ahir Shah, £10 advanced/ £12 on the door, 8.00pm

Tickets for all shows are on sale now from funnywaytobe.com.

Venue: The Witham, 3 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, Durham, DL12 8LY

Preview: Romesh Ranganathan at Barnard Castle

Mock The Week Star to Headline

Barnard Castle Xmas Show

Romesh Ranganathan & Suzi Ruffell

One of the stars of hit panel show Mock The Week is to perform at a special Christmas show in the North East.

Comedian Romesh Ranganathan will bring his 2014 Edinburgh Best Show Comedy Award-nominated show, Rom Wasn’t Built In A Day, to The Witham in Barnard Castle on Saturday 13 December.

You might recognise Romesh from his many TV appearances, which include Mock The Week, Live At The Apollo, Russell Howard’s Good News, Sunday Night At the London Palladium, and a regular slot on Channel 4’s weekly topical show, Stand Up For The Week.

He’s comedy’s next big star, and you can see him live in Teesdale for one night only. Peter Dixon, of promoters Funny Way To Be, said: “I saw Romesh's Best Newcomer Nominated Edinburgh show in 2013 and along with many others recognised he was a comedian heading for the top. “We had hoped he would come to Barnard Castle last year but TV commitments prevented that, so we are thrilled that he agreed to perform this autumn as the only North East date on his debut UK tour.”

In 2014, over 2,200 tickets have been sold for Funny Way To Be comedy shows in Barnard Castle. Founded by Peter Dixon in 2010, Funny Way To Be is the home of comedy in Barnard Castle. Previous acts include Russell Howard, Russell Kane, Jason Cook and Chris Ramsey.

And to thank Teesdale comedy goers for their support over the record-breaking year, Romesh will be joined by a comedy headliner in her own right, rising stand-up and Alan Carr’s tour support, Suzi Ruffell. In her hotly anticipated second show, Social Chameleon, the 'stand-up gem' (The Guardian) questions why she spent 27 years trying to make anyone and everyone like her. Turns outs it takes a fat bully from Swansea, a too-honest mother and searching a Parisian graveyard for someone she has never heard of to give up trying and just be herself. 

Lee Nelson

The show marks the end of a star-studded autumn season of comedy the market town, which sees Lee Nelson and Susan Calman visit Funny Way To Be in the coming weeks. Peter added: “This show rounds off a fantastic year for us, back for a full twelve months in the redeveloped Witham. 

Susan Calman

 With our proven track record and the fabulous facilities at the Barnard Castle arts centre we are able to attract some of the UK's very best comics. It's a far cry from our humble beginnings over four years ago.  During all this time the audiences have been wonderful and that's a key reason why comedians love to come and play for us.”

Tickets for all shows are on sale now from funnywaytobe.com.

Tickets

•       Wednesday 29 October: Lee Nelson: Work-In-Progress, £17.50, 7.30pm

•       Wednesday 19 November: Silky with support, £5, 8.00pm.

•       Saturday 29 November: Susan Calman: Lady Like, £14/£12 concessions, 8pm

•       Saturday 13 December: Romesh Ranganathan and Suzi Ruffell, £12/£10 concessions, 8pm

Venue

The Witham, 3 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, Durham, DL12 8LY

Preview: Stand Up in Barnard Castle

Stand Up Stars Bring Laughs

To Barnard Castle

 

Susan Calman

Award-winning comedians, TV stars and rising stand-up talent will perform at a top North East comedy club this autumn.

Teesdale comedy promoters Funny Way To Be, based at The Witham in Barnard Castle, has unveiled its line-up for the remainder of 2014 today.

Lee Nelson

Kicking off the comedy club’s brand new season is star of BBC Three’s Well Funny People, Lee Nelson, who brings his wonderful character-driven stand-up to The Witham on Wednesday 29 October.

 

Susan Calman

Prepare yourself for a night of jokes, legendary audience interaction, games and banter as Lee shows you a side of himself you’ve never seen him before.

Award-winning comedian Susan Calman is next up at Funny Way To Be, as she embarks on her first ever stand-up tour of the UK following rave reviews at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Calman, a regular on TV panel shows including QI and Have I Got News For You?, brings her Lady Like tour to Teesdale on Saturday 29 November.

Romesh Ranganathan

While the season finale, on Saturday 13 December, sees two of comedy’s rising stars make their Barnard Castle debuts.   

Romesh Ranganathan, winner of the Leicester Mercury New Act Award in 2013 and star of Channel 4’s hit comedy show Stand Up For The Week, brings his latest show, Rom Wasn’t Built In A Day, to The Witham.

 

While Suzi Ruffell, tour support for Alan Carr, Kevin Bridges and Josh Widdicombe, rounds off Funny Way To Be’s autumn season on the same night with her brand new show, Social Chameleon. 

 

Romesh Ranganathan & Suzi Ruffell

The full programme is:

·         Wednesday 29 October: Lee Nelson: Work-In-Progress, £17.50, 7.30pm

·         Saturday 29 November: Susan Calman: Lady Like, £14/£12 concessions, 8pm

·         Saturday 13 December: Romesh Ranganathan and Suzi Ruffell, £12/£10 concessions, 8pm

Peter Dixon, of Funny Way To Be Comedy Club, said: “All four comedians in our autumn season are playing Barnard Castle for the very first time so we’re very excited in that respect.

“Their styles are varied but all have one thing in common in that they are tremendous talents and greatly respected in their fields. 

“Lee [Nelson] is arguably the top character comedian on the comedy circuit, Susan Calman has vast standup, TV and radio experience behind and is embarking on her debut tour and the double-header show of Romesh [Ranganathan] and Suzi [Ruffell] brings two of comedy's rising young stand up stars as they also embark on their first UK tours. These are shows not to be missed."

Today’s announcement coincides with a sold-out appearance from Chris Ramsey, who visits The Witham on Thursday ahead of his limited run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Tickets

Tickets for all shows are on sale now from funnywaytobe.com.

VENUE

The Witham, 3 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, Durham, DL12 8LY