Imran Yusuf – Bring the Thunder

“Bursting with confidence and smooth patter” Independent

Elsewhere, Imran Yusuf, who was nominated for the Best Newcomer Award for his debut last year, cuts a slimline dash in white linen suit and patent black shoes. Born in Mombasa, he grew up in Hackney Downs, or, as he puts it, he was “born in the third world and upgraded to the ghetto”.

Bursting with confidence and smooth patter, “the spirit of Malcolm X in the body of Mahatma Gandhi” has strong words for those who believe that multiculturalism has failed. He points out the advantages of his diverse upbringing (you can swap the teams you support, depending on the sport) while poking fun at the stereotypes. Why do people always insist on asking him what his parents think of his chosen career, he asks. “My Mum doesn’t know I’m a stand-up, because my Dad doesn’t let her out of the house.”

Friday, 19 August 2011. Independent.

Click Here to go to The Noise Next Door’s page on ComicVoice.com and see their Edinburgh show information for tickets, times and more.

“The beauty of the show is that, no two performances are the same, which keeps bringing people back” **** Edinburgh Spotlight

Date of live review: Tuesday 9th Aug, ‘11

As the room gradually fills, and people take their seats, they are serenaded by two of the members from the group. Also up in the corner of the room, there are two puppets similar to Statler and Waldorf (from the Muppets) messing around with each other, and also anyone else that gets too close to them.

The light’s go down and instantly the 5 of them burst onto stage, with a cloud of white dust accompanying them – which hangs in the air for the first few minutes, leaving the place smelling of talcum powder. Dressed in their trademark attire of all black, each with different coloured ties. They start the show with a song about 5 of the audience members Perfect Partner’s, singing about random characters to a well choreographed dance routine. The song at the start gives the room a vibe and everyone is eager to see what’s next.

Suggestions from the crowd help them to carry out a rather strange mission to and from the moon to save Carol Vordermon, and then destroy her using avocado oil – yes it does get as crazy as this. A txt from a borrowed mobile phone acts as the conversation between an audience member (played by Tom) and in this show a suggested Charles Dickens. This left the audience asking ‘please sir, can we have some more’ – with this theme recurring throughout. Sound effects and spotlights are used very well to add to the txt message theme.

With lots of side games between members, with an indie song about a relationship with a robot to an encounter between Harry Potter and Voldermort talking about Barack Obama, the audience is kept entertained for the full hour – and it is definitely their finest. It is easy to see that they have been performing together for 6 years, as they bounce off each other, with small comments like “You know far too much about (Harry Potter) that topic” and have the audience laughing throughout.

The simple-ness of the 5 members standing in a lift, acting as 5 random fictional/ non-fictional characters at the end is a brilliant finale. The beauty of the show is that, no two performances are the same, which keeps bringing people back.

Review by Elliot Bibby

“ludicrously hilarious” ***** The Public Reviews

Date of live review: Tuesday 9th Aug, ‘11

I haven’t actually seen every single improvisation comedy show at Edinburgh – there are an awful lot – but I will stick my neck out and say that if a well known brewery made improvisation comedy, it would be ‘The Noise Next Door’, consisting of five outrageously talented and engaging young men. My throat was sore with laughter by the end of the hour, which was certainly exceedingly fine!

As ever, the group improvised sketches, dances and jokes based on suggestions from the audience. As a result, every show is necessarily different but somehow equal. In the show I saw, we perhaps predictably met Harry Potter and Voldemort; observed a love triangle played out via text messages between Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare and Hannah, an audience member; saw the entire crew of Apollo 11 digging on the moon for cheese; found an ideal partner who was a seven feet tall, hunchbacked fishmonger with a liking for chicken goujons; and enjoyed a ludicrously hilarious ballet based on drawings from the audience involving dinosaurs, stick men, hot air balloons and castles. We also discovered that there are very few jokes about squirrels.

The five are talented songsmiths. Their songs are made up on the spot from ridiculous audience suggestions and not only scan and rhyme but also make a twisted sort of sense. I have seen several of their performances in the past and never cease to marvel at this skill. In this colour-coded, close-knit troupe, there simply is no weak link.

I can’t recommend them highly enough – but would suggest you take throat pastilles with you!

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

“The Noise Next Door are attractive, talented, quick-witted and quick-thinking…astonishing talent” **** SG Fringe

Date of live review: Tuesday 9th Aug, ‘11

Improvised comedy, like anything, is not everyone’s cup of tea, although credit must be given to the pure skill, inventiveness and genius of those who manage to pull it off successfully. The Noise Next Door are in this improvisation elite, and their show this year really is their finest hour.

The pre-choreographed routines and song templates had the audience in stitches which is encouraging as these are some of the very few fixed features of the show which won’t change with each performance. Equally though, the excitement of improvised comedy such as this is that each performance will be different based on audience suggestions, and The Noise Next Door make the most of the bizarre suggestions thrown at them. The downside to this unpredictability is that during some of the more challenging and unusual scenes the performers have a tendency to break focus and laugh at themselves, although in one scene they go through intensive conditioning to beat this lack of control out of them! The only other negatives surrounding this show was that one or two sketches/songs perhaps went on a bit too long; and a couple of minor technical errors distracted from the astonishing talent being presented on stage.

The five boys of The Noise Next Door are attractive, talented, quick-witted and quick-thinking, and I don’t doubt that they have an extremely promising future both here at the Fringe and out on the wider circuit.

Review by Angus Wyatt. SG Fringe

“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

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

AS PART OF THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE 2011

Venue:             Pleasance – (Venue 33)

Dates:              3^rd to 29^th 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

JONATHAN ELSTON

AAA STAND-UP LATE

AS PART OF THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE 2011

Venue:             Pleasance – (Venue 33)

Dates:              3^rd to 29^th August 2011

Time:               11.00pm (12.00am)

Box office:       0131 556 6550

Internet:           www.pleasance.co.uk

www.edfringe.co.uk

Show Summary: At just 22 years of age, Jonathan Elston is a fresh, punchy, gag-driven comic who combines sharp joke writing and quirky observations with a youthful likability that charms his audience and endears him to any room. Enjoy Jonathan Elston as he joins AAA Stand-up Late showcasing the best comedians from the UK comedy circuit.

“A young comic with incredible talent and natural warmth” The Guardian

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 THE OFFICIAL MANAGEMENT PAGE FOR JONATHAN ELSTON

EDINBURGH

IMRAN YUSUF

BRING THE THUNDER!!

AS PART OF THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE 2011

Venue:             Pleasance – Beneath (Venue 33)

Dates:              3^rd to 29^th 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!

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

“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