Posts Tagged ‘comedy’

An Improv Adventure: The Noise Next Door

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011 by andy

The Noise Next Door comedy group take suggestions via Twitter and facebook and embarked on a series of ‘Fantasy Theme’ adventures. This time it’s Big Tom and Charlie. What will they get up to?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WYZWN8SQ38

It’s improv adventure 3 in as many weeks for The Noise Next Door and the views are flying in!

To speak to us about The Noise Next Door ‘Improv Adventure’ series please contact us here.

Imram Yusuf – Edinburgh Comedy Festival Live Performance

Tuesday, September 6th, 2011 by andy

Enjoy Imran Yusuf performing at Edinburgh Festival Hall for Edinburgh Comedy Fest Live 2011.

Enjoy more from Imran Yusuf here

Imran Yusuf Edinburgh Comedy Gala

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011 by andy

Edinburgh Comedy Gala 2011 in aid of Waverley Care

The Comedy Gala is always a comedy highlight of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and with the
Festival Hall selling out again this year, the atmosphere was electric as the festival’s top acts took to the stage. You can catch Imran’s performance  THIS WEDNESDAY 31st August on BBC3 @ 9pm.

Take me to Imran Yusuf’s page on Comic Voice.com

BBC Comedy Presents: Three@TheFringe

Friday, August 26th, 2011 by andy

BBC Comedy Presents: Three@TheFringe gives audiences across the world a taste of the comedy and talent on show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In this clip Imran Yusuf talks about world peace and Joel Dommett endures Edinburgh’s cobbled streets. Exclusive Edinburgh comedy filmed live in 2011.

Catch this show’s debut broadcast: Monday 5th September @ 10.30pm on BBC3


Take me to Imran Yusuf’s page on www.comicvoice.com

The Noise Next Door – Their Finest Hour **** Chortle Review

Friday, August 5th, 2011 by andy

2011 Show Review

“sublime comedy” **** Chortle

Date of live review: Friday 5th Aug, ‘11

“It can be difficult reviewing shows on the first day of Fringe previews. Technically anyone who has said they are happy to be reviewed should be ready… but how many really are?

But if you’re using suggestions from the crowd as the basis of your show then every day is a first day. The only thing that improv troupe The Noise Next Door need to do by way of rehearsal is a bit of warming up, and on this opening afternoon they’re showing no signs of rust. The fact that they’ve been working as a team for six years shows they’re a tight group without a weak link.

They appear on stage in their trademark garb: all black but for a different coloured tie each. And though I say there are five members, there are technically seven this year; as the audience enter the room a Statler-and-Waldorf-style puppet duo wearing the same look banter with each other and anyone who might come too close while two of the full size members of the troop serenade us.

They kick off proper with a song, a fitting display of their talents as each one adopts an attribute of the audience’s ‘perfect partner’ – on this occasion that turns out to be a female spy with four legs who likes Pokemon and can pull a condom over her head. The routine is perfectly choreographed and expertly sung and though some of the impromptu lyrics are a touch predictable, the strained exclamation, ‘I can’t breathe!’ from Charlie as the personification of ‘pulled-condom-over-head’ is simple but effective. Of course a song is an effective and dynamic way to get the energy up from the start in a typical Fringe sweat box of a venue on an unusually sunny day.

The key improv games are familiar ones, suggestions from the crowd inform a scene and, on occasion, audience members are plucked out of their seats to help out. But Noise differ in that they have created their own games from the premise. An early game sees not one scene but five (though I may have lost count) cutting across each other thick and fast. A borrowed mobile phone from the crowd begins the story of Winnie the Pooh entering into a text exchange and a subsequent trip to Berlin and audience drawings inspire a whole ballet.

There are plenty of endearing asides between the players drawing you into their world; they good naturedly pull each other up commenting, ‘can’t believe you got away with that joke’ and purple-tie Tom self referentially comments that ‘I know way too much about this for a 26-year-old man’ as he displays an impressive knowledge of A.A. Milne’s most famous creation.

Throughout the show some of the off-the-cuff quips are obvious – an indie song about a relationship with a gruff lady fire fighter includes a fair few gags about sliding down poles – but the acting, musical and choreography skills more than make up for it.

Plus there are plenty of moments of sublime comedy in the show; the improvised ballet imprints a mental image of two of the players in leotards that you’re not likely to forget in a hurry, a ’serious’ scene policed by the crowd armed with water pistols ordered to shoot when they spot inevitable corpsing from the performers is great fun and the final skit featuring Obama in a lift with some magical characters from myth is as fantastic as it is simple.”

Review by Marissa Burgess. Chortle

TAKE ME TO THE NOISE NEXT DOOR’s PAGE ON WWW.COMICVOICE.COM

Edinburgh Fringe Festival Begins Today

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011 by andy

Months of previews and preparation has all lead up to today and the coming month in Edinburgh for  five exclusively managed Comic Voice Management acts.

You can find all there show details here:

The Noise Next Door – Their Finest Hour – Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) – 4.30pm

Imran Yusuf – Bring The Thunder – Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) – 7pm

Simon Feilder – AAA Stand-up – Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) – 7.15pm

Jonathan Elston – AAA Stand-up Late – Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) – 11pm

Nik Coppin – Award Winning Comedian – The City Cafe (Venue 85) – 5.30pm

For press tickets, please contact us here.

Simon Feilder – AAA Stand-up – Edinburgh 2011

Thursday, June 16th, 2011 by andy

Simon Feilder - AAA Stand-up - Edinburgh 2011SIMON FEILDER

AAA STAND-UP

AS PART OF THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE 2011

Venue:             Pleasance – (Venue 33)

Dates:              3rd to 29th August 2011

Time:               7.15pm (8.15pm)

Box office:       0131 556 6550

Internet:           www.pleasance.co.uk

www.edfringe.co.uk

Show Summary: An in-demand stand-up, voiceover artist and presenter, Simon is a beacon of wit and banter shining through in the AAA Stand-up show, a total sell out 2005-2010.

“Highly Entertaining” TimeOut | “Compelling to watch” Chortle.co.uk

www.comicvoice.com

For further information and images please contact:

Andrew Dingley on 0845 459 56 56 ext.227 or by email at andrew@hahaheehee.com

Comic Voice Management is part of The Comedy Club Ltd Group of Companies.

TAKE ME TO SIMON FEILDER’S OFFICIAL MANAGEMENT PAGE

Imran Yusuf – Bring The Thunder – Edinburgh 2011

Thursday, June 16th, 2011 by andy

Imran Yusuf (Page 1)EDINBURGH COMEDY AWARD 2010 – BEST NEWCOMER nominee

IMRAN YUSUF

BRING THE THUNDER!!

AS PART OF THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE 2011

Venue:             Pleasance – Beneath (Venue 33)

Dates:              3rd to 29th August 2011

Time:               7.00pm (8.00pm)

Box office:       0131 556 6550

Internet:           www.pleasance.co.uk

www.edfringe.co.uk

“BY NOT FOCUSING ON THE OBVIOUS RACIAL STEREOTYPES, HE WINS OVER THE ENTIRE AUDIENCE. HIS HAPPY, POSITIVE PERSONALITY LEAVES THEM FEELING UPLIFTED, ENERGISED AND PRIVILEGED TO HAVE HAD AN AUDIENCE WITH IMRAN YUSUF” ***** Chortle

Join Imran Yusuf for his brand new show Bring The Thunder!! – the sequel to his 2010 Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer nominated show, An Audience With Imran Yusuf. This is a show about pursuing your dreams with unrelenting enthusiasm and perseverance from the star of Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow.

Motivating, inspiring and 100% comedy!

Edinburgh Show Reviews

a fresh new comic voice…sharp, passionate and uplifting’ **** The Telegraph

Date of live review: Monday 8th Aug, ‘11

Imran Yusuf’s birthplace was Mombasa, his parents Muslims of Indian descent, but he was raised in Hackney, East London. (“I was born in the Third World, and upgraded to the ghetto.”) He insist that he never fitted in anywhere, yet appears far from bitter. Rather, his complex background here fuels a set that is, above all, an unflinchingly optimistic challenge to David Cameron’s famous assertion earlier this year that “[state] multi-culturalism has failed” – tragically incongruous in this dark week, but arguably all the more necessary too.

A garlanded Fringe newcomer last year, Yusuf is, then, a fellow with serious points to make. But this proud Briton always puts his case playfully, mocking both sides of the religious divide and even drolly fusing the two. His Islamic My Old Man’s a Dustman, for example, is very nicely done.

He wittily riffs on people’s vain attempts to pigeonhole him ethnically, on the lessons we can learn from the Arab spring, on growing up a Muslim in a predominantly white city. He also enjoys upbraiding us for our reactions to his material, twice twinklingly accusing us of racism for laughing at it.

Girls, too, have clearly been a source of angst for Yusuf in the past (join the queue, matey), and Bring the Thunder is also, in part, this nattily dressed but rail-thin fellow’s personally cathartic plee for women to use their “great power” over men with “great responsibility”. If Spider-Man can do it, he suggests, surely they can too – and, if this bid for romantic clemency is a little one-way, his stance is nothing if not humble.

So, a fresh new comic voice in a show that’s essentially a sharp, passionate and uplifting bid for people to follow their professional dreams (as he has) and be nicer to each other across all divides. Anything is possible, Yusuf insists. World peace. Even a white guy winning the 100m sprint. Just don’t let him hear you chuckling at such racially unsound material…

Review by Mark Monahan. The Telegraph

Edinburgh Show Reviews

strong, clever material which builds to a thoroughly uplifting finale…fascinating” **** FEST

Date of live review: Sunday 7th Aug, ‘11

Imran Yusuf is by no means short of confidence. It’s perhaps not surprising: the Kenyan-born, Hackney-raised ex-computer games tester played 101 shows in 25 days at the 2010 Fringe. It’s an experience which, clearly, has left its mark. Here Yusuf breezes through a set of strong, clever material which builds to a thoroughly uplifting finale.

It is identity—specifically it’s malleability and ambiguity—which provides Yusuf with his comedic fodder. Undoubtedly, he speaks from a fascinating place on the topic, his mixed heritage providing him with a unique angle on national identity. This is a cultural no man’s land he works to his advantage, allowing him to exercise his knack for taking topics to the bounds of acceptability, digging deeper into uncomfortable territory on race and religion before dropping, erm, the comedic bomb.

This ebb and flow also allows him room to be, for want of a better word, preachy. But Yusuf steers well clear of boorishness, instead crafting a well rounded show whose central message—that it’s totally right-on to be yourself and to let others do the same—comes through gleefully, stripping away our various affiliations rather than asserting a political one of his own.

There’s the odd weak point – Yusuf can do much better than jokes about boobs and Back to the Future, and a recurring theme of him being “gangster” never looks close to sprouting wings. But these are moments of timidity among otherwise braver material. There are few comedians willing to recite the Qur’an as part of their finale – and still fewer who could make it work.

Review by Evan Beswick, FEST Mag

———————————————————————————

2011 Show Promo Continued

“IMRAN YUSUF’S SHOW HERALDS THE BIRTH OF A NEW COMEDY STAR. INTELLIGENT, THOUGHT–PROVOKING AND LAUGH OUT LOUD FUNNY” **** Time Out

An Audience With Imran Yusuf catapulted Imran from a relatively unknown performer to one of the most talked about comedians of The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2010.

Fast and furious yet charmingly endearing, his is a unique voice with his seemingly light-hearted satire frequently masking hard-hitting topical commentary on contemporary issues such as racism, sexism and religion.

“AN HOUR OF CHEEK AND CHARM” **** Independent

Born in Mombasa, Kenya and raised in the UK with a brief stint at school in the USA, Imran travelled much of the world including Israel/Palestine, Jordan and Saudi Arabia during the Lebanon Crisis in 2006. His work has been inspired by this rich multicultural background, giving him a youthful, energetic and highly original voice that embodies the multi-cultural wealth that exists in modern Britain.

In 2010, Imran presented his debut solo show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The show was part of the Laughing Horse Free Festival and it was Imran’s intention to develop his craft and material at the Fringe whilst at the same time keeping under the radar of the UK Comedy Industry and Press. However, word about the show got out and within a week Imran had gained the first of a collection of 5 star reviews, which led to him being nominated for Best Newcomer in the Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Award 2010 (He was the first performer from The Free Festival to be nominated in the history of the Awards).

Imran has also appeared on the Edinburgh Comedy Gala (BBC3) and Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Road Show (BBC1).

www.imranyusuf.com

For further information and images please contact:

Andrew Dingley on 0845 459 56 56 ext.227 or by email at andrew@hahaheehee.com

Comic Voice Management is part of The Comedy Club Ltd Group of Companies.

TAKE ME BACK TO IMRAN YUSUF’S OFFICIAL MANAGEMENT PAGE

Pick of the Fringe: Imran Yusuf by The List

Friday, June 10th, 2011 by andy

Tweeted by The List just yesterday, Imran Yusuf has been hotly tipped in The List’s annual ‘Pick of the Fringe’. As one of the leading voices covering the Edinburgh comedy festival the news points to the hype surrounding comedian Imran Yusuf and his upcoming Edinburgh 2011 show.

thelistmagazine The List
Our pick of this year’s @edfringe comedy: http://ow.ly/5dOBU includes @tapefaceboy, @gimpfight, @imranyusuf, @MorningNantwich, @DaveGorman

Take a look at Imran’s biog and enjoy stand-up comedy clips here.

Comic Voice Acts Impress

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011 by andy

When the Shaftsbury & Gillingham Round Table said they wanted a top end night of comedy to raise money for Charity, they looked no further than The Comedy Club to provide the funniest acts in the business.

The result was a night filled with laughter:

“the night was excellent , i would like to give a big thankyou to all three comedians who without the charity night would not of been a success , Rudi topped the night having everyone in the room in stitches, We are very pleased with the whole company from the booking through to the performances, as a result we hope to make this a yearly event.”

Comic Voice Management acts Karen Bayley, Simon Feilder and Rudi Lickwood did the honours and are available for private bookings, such as this. All it takes is an enquiry: http://www.comicvoice.com/contact-us.html