Last Laugh Comedy at the Sheffield City Hall 15/16 Jan with Paul Sinha

[sheffcomedy]

The Last Laugh Comedy Club returns to the City Hall with a fantastic weekend of comedy. Barry Castagnola hosts Andrew Bird, Dave Fulton and Paul Sinha (ITV The Chase). All wrapped with DJ Foxy's infamous cheesey disco.

 

Venue – The Memorial Hall, Sheffield City Hall

Dates – 15/16 January 2016

Box Office – 01142210317

Tickets £16 per person

Doors 7pm, show 8 30pm

 

BARRY CASTAGNOLA

Over the last few years, Barry has established himself as an extremely accomplished comic performer, writer and actor. As well as performing stand up on the UK and International comedy circuits, he has created, appeared on and written for numerous television projects.

 

He appeared in the Christmas episode of Greg Davies’s sitcom Man Down (Channel 4) and recently Barry has created and performed a variety of comedy characters for new television shows – The Secret Interview (TwoFour Productions for Channel 5), Eye Spy (Objective for Channel 4) and Dom Joly’s primetime ITV show, Fool Britannia. He was also a regular cast member of the MTV comedy Flash Prank.

 

He was a writer for Ask Rhod Gilbert (BBC1) played the CEO in Office Party at The Pleasance Theatre in Islington, is a regular co-host on The Rhod Gilbert Radio Show (BBCWales) and is the co-host of the topical podcast The Proper Gander.

 

He has performed stand up on The Comedy Store Live (Comedy Central), The Stand Up Show (BBC1), Jongleurs Live (was a regular on Christian O’Connell’s Sunday Service and film quiz Popcorn (SKYONE) and also appeared in Comedy Shuffle (BBC3) and Comedy Cuts (ITV2).

 

Barry was the creator and one third of the spoof eco-warrior dance-music act Cyderdelic (with Marc Wootton and Liam Woodman). After two critically acclaimed Edinburgh shows (‘Fantastically innovative and astonishingly funny.’ ***** The List) and a stint on The 11O’Clock Show, Cyderdelic won the inaugural BBC2 Green Light Award for comedy, the prize for which was a one-off programme for the channel. This was then developed into a six-part series for BBC3. Cyderdelic: The Revolution Will Be Televised, narrated by the legendary John Peel and broadcast in 2004, is a hilarious combination of jaw-dropping stunts, direct action, merry mischief and character comedy. It quickly achieved cult-status and is still revered by comedy fans.

 

‘Impressive and hilarious’ (Daily Telegraph)

 

‘Unmissable. The Office meets Greenpeace’ (Zoo)

 

‘A Tooting popular front for the No Logo generation…The actors gleefully utilise the real-life backdrop for maximum chaos, unafraid to humiliate themselves in the pursuit of improvisational anarchy.’ (Sunday Times Critics’ Choice)

 

ANDREW BIRD

Andrew Bird started his career by making old blokes laugh down the pub. He wrote down the funny stuff he said and now he's taking the comedy bull firmly by the horns. Bird boasts perfect timing, crisp delivery and spot-on observations.

 

His comedy is derived from his lack of identity. He is white, british, somewhere between middle and working class, and neither northern nor southern. It is however this everyman persona that provides his core appeal. His struggles with, and triumphs over, everyday difficulties are certain to delight any audience.

 

You Tube clip of Andrew supporting Rhod Gilbert on tour

 

“Superb… the exciting rising star” Time Out

“A natural comedian” The Stage

“Effortlessly engaging and funny as hell” Rhod Gilbert

“Beautifully observed and insightful…not only an entertaining story but a very funny hour of fine stand-up.” Chortle

“There’s an undercurrent of wisdom, hope and self-acceptance which delivers more soul than most shows you’ll see this year, but never undermines the comedy. Although his material is always funny and frequently hilarious, it’s his personal charm that makes this special.” Fest

 

DAVE FULTON

Whoever it was who decided that Americans don't have any sense of irony, they forgot to tell Dave Fulton. This wry Seattle wag is positively brimming over with ironic invective. He even fronted an amusing and perceptive report - for Newsnight, no less - begging Brits to celebrate their own heritage, rather than aping American pop culture.

 

Yet you'd never know from the look of him. With his stringy beard, straggly long hair and rock 'n' roll black leather jacket, Fulton looks more like a refugee from a defunct British heavy metal band than an all-American stand-up... there's a salty flavour to his live club set that you'd scarcely describe as feminist. It's these contradictions that make Fulton so fascinating, and fun to watch, especially when he's riffing with British punters half a world away from home.

 

Dave Fulton is opinionated, isn't afraid to pull punches in his observations, yet has a deceptively laid back stage manner that disguises a raw aggression. A varied melting pot of issues that sometimes even he doesn't want to explore. This is un-missable comedy from one of the most dynamic and innovative comedians breaking on the comedy circuit at the moment. His mother would never have thought it possible from someone who holds a Masters in Music Composition.

 

Recently he's been seen on the BBC series The Stand Up Show, and Channel 5's The Comedy Store series where he took the roof off the prestigious club with his highly inventive perspective on life. Dave has also presented a feature for Newsnight on American culture to tie in with an exhibition at The Barbican.

 

"Whiplash delivery and relentless pace" - The List

"Compelling... a real breath of fresh air" - The Independent

 

Seattle-based Dave Fulton has played clubs from San Francisco to New York, and notched up many TV credits ranging from Half Hour Comedy Hour (MTV), ShowTime and An Evening At The Improv (A&E) to a cutting-edge US programme called Comedy Explorers where he was filmed floating down the Grand Canyon. He's also been seen entertaining crowds as far away as Hong Kong and Cape Town, South Africa.

 

 

PAUL SINHA

Medically qualified Paul Sinha is now a critically acclaimed international stand up comedian of many years standing who first achieved media recognition in 2006 when his solo show Saint or Sinha was nominated for the If.comedy (formerly Perrier) award at the Edinburgh Festival. Since then he has been something of a fixture on Radio 4 with the series Paul Sinha’s Citizenship Test and Paul Sinha’s History Revision as well as one off shows on cricket, the 2012 Olympics and Magna Carta. He has also made frequent appearances on Radio 4 favourites News Quiz, Just a Minute, and The Now Show and has registered several victories on Radio 5’s feisty weekly sports panel show Just a Minute.

 

As a live comic, Paul has performed several extremely well received solo shows, has had two national tours, performed in Beijing, Munich, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Tokyo as well as many non Olympic cities across the globe. He appeared in the first two series of the Stewart Lee curated tv show Alternative Comedy Experience and in 2014 Paul was voted “Best Club Comedian” in the annual Chortle Awards.

 

In addition to this Paul has carved out a further career as a professional quizzer, attaining grandmaster status in 2014, reaching a career high UK ranking of 7 in 2015. Since 2011 Paul has been one of the regular “Chasers” on ITV’s award winning quiz show The Chase.

 

"Sinha's wonderfully uncluttered one-liners are delivered with the crisp clarity of cut glass, but, crucially, his set retains an engaging warmth.He doesn't so much walk the line between controversy and outrage as use it for a skipping rope.Highly original." Metro, June 2005

 

"Universal anecdotes as warmly delivered as you would find anywhere........it’s a pleasure listening to him" - Steve Bennett, Chortle

 

"His confidence on stage was excellent and his talent for adlibbing and summoning gags off the cuff were very funny" - BBC Online