Weirdos Comedy Club

Weirdos Comedy Club is a UK based group of alternative comedians founded by Adam Larter in 2010.^[1]

Origins

Weirdos Comedy Club, or Weirdos as it’s commonly referred to, was formed by Adam Larter as an experimental night and a safe place to try out riskier or more alternative material than usual circuit comedy. Nights generally focussed on anarchic and silly sets deemed too alternative^[2] for more streamlined stand-up common on the UK comedy circuit.^[3] They have been compared to the 80's alternative comedy group The Comic Strip.^[4]

Originally housed in the Lion, Kings Cross it grew from a comedy night into a group and over the years nights and projects became larger. Of these, most notably is their annual alternative Christmas panto.

Unlike most comedy groups the line-up constantly shifts. The original Weirdos include Foster Comedy Award Winner John Kearns, Pat Cahill, Leicester Mercury Winner Ben Target, Holly Burn, Matthew Highton, Mark Stephenson, Ali Brice, Karl Schultz, Beth Vyse, Nick Sun, Darren Maskell and Larter himself.

Later Weirdos include, Joz Norris, Marny Godden, Luke McQueen, Hariett Kemlsey, Chris Boyd, Stuart Laws, William Lee, Katia Kvinge, Laurence Owen, Liberty Hodes and Lindsay Sharman.

The early nights of Weirdos were unpredictable; Burn setting herself on fire or crowd surfing, Maskell gunging himself, Highton extending a ten minute slot for over an hour to outdo another comic, Sun having the audience follow people or Morinan surveying the audience and holding after dinner speeches in a curry house to unsuspecting diners and staff.^[5]

Christmas Panto

Since 2012 Weirdos have held an annual alternative Christmas panto in aid of Great Ormond Street hospital. They state that it is in actuality nothing like a real Christmas panto and focus more on silliness and anarchy.^[6][7]

2012 - Hook

The first panto was a re-production of Steven Spielberg’s Hook, recreating the film onstage in its entirety. With John Kearns taking the lead of Peter Pan and Karl Schultz as Hook.

2013 - The Colonel

Co-written and co-directed by Larter and Highton, The Colonel was a ‘war epic about love and chicken, lots of chicken.’ Based on a joke by Highton, the plot focussed on Sanders (played by Ali Brice) and his best friend Chicken Steve (played by Larter) as they grew in a small Kentucky town, eventually joining the army and killing Hitler. It featured in the Independents and Time Outs must sees for Christmas.^[8]

2014 - A Christmas Tail

Written by Larter and Directed by Highton, A Christmas Tail was the story of a feminist mermaid (played by Harriett Kemsley) and her hapless friend, or ‘exoskeleton twat',^[9] an Australian Lobster (played by Joz Norris). The plot focuses on Kemsley journeying from Atlantis to the human world to stop a John Lewis advert from ruining their home. It once again featured in Time Outs Christmas must sees.^[10][11]

Other Nights

Blue Print

Blue Print was a regular night held in the Lion, Stoke Newington throughout 2014. It focussed on more collaborative work, opposed to the original set based night of its origins.^[12]

Bowie Fest

Bowie Fest^[13] was a spoof version of the V&As Bowie Is that Larter and Highton put on in 2012.

Computer Boy

A play written by Larter about a boy who wanted to be a computer, starring Ali Brice, Beth Vyse and Luke McQueen.^[14]

The Fawlty Towers Dining Experience, Experience

Another spoof, this time of the famous Fawlty Towers Dining Experience. Weirdos held it in Edinburgh 2013 and reportedly the only audience members were the cast of the Fawlty Towers Dining Experience.^[15]

References

External links

• Official website
• Weirdos Comedy Club on Twitter