This is certainly not a very easy message to have to deliver, but one I have to do nonetheless.

Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control and despite a recent determination and resurgence to bring the best comedy available to you, we must regretfully inform you that The Comedy Basement will no longer be running.

We first opened our doors on the 29th January 2009 and have been in action for over two years now, bringing you the best comedic talent from all over Ireland and headline acts from across the globe, from the USA to Australia. However, nothing has given us as much pleasure as allowing you good folk to see top notch local comedy and we hope you’ll be able to recognise some of the guys you saw at the Comedy Basement and be able to remember the days when you didn’t have to pay £20 to see them ;)

So, first and foremost, a massive massive thank you to everyone who has ever performed at the Comedy Basement at any level, a thank you to all our emcees over the years but most importantly a thank you to each and every person who has ever attended the Comedy Basement, we wouldn’t have got this far without you!

Please continue to support local comedy and comedians by seeingt hese guys at other venues across the country, like the Menagerie’s BIG Sunday, the Black Box, Mason’s and the Pavillion etc.

We’d have loved to be able to deliver the show at the end of this month but unfortunately that is now not a possibility, so February 24th was the last gig.

Thanks again for all your support over the years, its been fun!!

Neill

We continue to bring you the best Acts in the country & how we lucky are to have…

EDWIN SAMMON
…Fresh from winning the prestigious Golden Toilet Duck Comedy Award as part of Tedfest in Galway in February, Ed is bringing his surreal take on Irish storytelling & Pop Culture up to Belfast for the first time. Born on the planet Galway and raised in the Offaly nebula, Edwin was brought up by a community of wookies. His early childhood was spent cavorting in the fields, discovering where a female wookies private bits were and fighting the evil galactic Empire. Once he came of age his wookie parents noticed that he had a knack for making people laugh. Edwin left the Offaly nebula to persue a stand up career, slightly less hairy than he had been before.

Sharp, witty, & surreal. Ed is a real treat you don’t want to miss.

SCOTT & STACY
Madcap character Comedy Duo & real live Americans Scott Calonico & Stacy Mead hail from Texas but are now based in the UK.

For the last eight/nine years they have joined forces to write, produce, direct and star in a slew of rather amusing short films that have shown worldwide including screenings at Sundance, Venice, and Rotterdam. In the United States, they have performed all over the US & along the way, they’ve performed with the likes of Doug Benson, Sarah Silverman, Paul F. Thompkins and Johnny Hardwick.

You will not see an act like this anywhere else in the country. Expect something very special!

LORCAN MCGRANE
Beginning stand up in 2006, Lorcan McGrane has foisted his perversions and Peccadilloes on an unsuspecting public in Belfast, Dublin, Norwich, London, and Edinburgh with great success. His One Man Show GEEKDOM was very well received during it’s stint at the Belfast Fringe Festival. Geeky, awkward, intelligent, hilarious.

We are also lucky to have performances from creator of VOICEBOX comedy MARCUS KEELEY & an open spot from BBC radio’s HOTROD MCCAUGHAN

One of NI’s fastest rising acts RUAIDHRI WARD is back again as your regular MC.

“Ruaidhrí is one of the most gifted stand-ups on the scene” – Joe Lindsay. BBC.

A night to be missed at your peril. But we don’t have to threaten you. You know what’s good for you.

Comedy Basement @ McHughs
Thursday 31st March
Doors at 8.00pm – Show at 8.45pm (Advise you turn up early to get seats!)
Entrance: £5.00
Discounts for large groups, feel free to contact info@comedybasement.co.uk if you’re planning a really large group!

That’s all for now, feel free to drop us a line at info@comedybasement.co.uk!

Thanks!

We continue to bring you the best Headliners in the country & how we lucky are to have…

ROBBIE BONHAM
Dublin-based stand-up comedian, musician, artist and cartoonist, is there anything Robbie can’t do?

Since he first picked up a microphone in a comedy club 6 years ago, Robbie has worked his way up to be a regular Headliner across the country including shows in The Laughter Lounge, Belfast’s Empire, Derry’s Masons & pretty much anywhere that can get him. Along the way he has picked up the prestigious 98 FM’s ‘Best Comedian’ Award, played some rocking gigs at Oxegen and in Vicar Street and is a regular at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

With his beautifully honed & jagged wit and bitterly sharp biting humour Robbie is a firm favourite with any audience.

“Pretty damn hilarious…A talented addition to any line-up” – ComedyEire

“Confident, intelligent, creative and darn funny” – The Laughter Lounge

MAGIC GEORGE QUINN
The resident MC at Belfast’s breeding ground for new acts – Big Laughs at The Big House – George reckons he shambled onto the comedy scene in 2008 when in fact he exploded onto it, & to much acclaim with his eclectic mix of the sublime and ridiculous. A professional magician who has now taken his love of physical comedy, bizarre prop work and rambling musings into the field of stand up, he has been winning audiences over with a visual, quirky act executed by likeable and accessible performer.

With a special guest appearance from comedians comedian MORGAN HEARST, BBC sketch writer PETER E DAVIDSON, & an open spot from Lucy Porters’s recent support act LAUREN KERR this is the night that just keeps on giving.

One of NI’s fastest rising acts RUAIDHRI WARD is back again as your regular MC.

“Ruaidhrí is one of the most gifted stand-ups on the scene” – Joe Lindsay. BBC.

A night to be missed at your peril. But we don’t have to threaten you. You know what’s good for you.

Comedy Basement @ McHughs
Thursday 24th February
Doors at 8.00pm – Show at 8.45pm (Advise you turn up early to get seats!)
Entrance: £5.00
Discounts for large groups, feel free to contact info@comedybasement.co.uk if you’re planning a really large group!

That’s all for now, feel free to drop us a line at info@comedybasement.co.uk!

Thanks!

First of all, thank you all so much for making the last gig of 2010 truly a classic! But, out with the old and in with the new as the Comedy Basement returns to make your 2011 hilarious, & what a treat of a night we have in store for January.

PAUL CURRIE
Paul Currie is a Belfast based Fool. He is a trained Jim Henson Muppeteer, Paul performs “POTTO” on Cbeebies Sesame Tree.

One of Irelands funniest & most respected acts Paul incorporates a traditional form of stand up that takes influence from Victorian Music Hall acts to The Goons, Jacque Tati, Andy Kaufman, Vic Reeves and mixes this with modern fools/clowns like Slava Polunin, and Jango Edwards. Paul Currie has been called…

“totally new” – Jarlath Regan http://www.jigser.com/

“a show stealer” – The Dublin Times,

You must definitely catch this act with his unique brand of stand up/clowning.

ENDA MULDOON
One of Ireland’s most sought after comedians Enda Muldoon began comedy over five years ago in a bid to deal with deep seated childhood psycholgical trauma. This badly thought out attempt at purging his demons in public proved not only to be unsuccessful, but has involved many of his shows ending with his admission to a psychiatric unit.

Not strictly a comedian, watching Enda perform is a dark view at the fragility of the human psyche. The fact that anyone would give him a microphone, is proof in itself that the collapse of society is imminent

Your compere once again will be Northern Ireland’s own RUAIDHRÍ WARD. Ruaidhrí is one of the stand out comedians on the Belfast scene at the moment and we are delighted to have him compere the Comedy Basement.
“It’s rare you see something as original these days.” – Tony Law.

With Open Spots from the best new talent Ireland has to offer this is night to be missed at your peril. But we don’t have to threaten you. You know what’s good for you.

Comedy Basement @ McHughs
Thursday 27th January
Doors at 7.30pm – Show at 8.45pm (Advise you turn up early to get seats!)
Entrance: £5.00
Discounts for large groups, feel free to contact info@comedybasement.co.uk if you’re planning a really large group!

Thanks and hope you all had a very happy new year!
Comedy Basement

Having worked on such Hollywood television shows as; ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, MTV’s Wild N’ Out, and Spike TV’s Scream Awards, Shantz brings a hilarious unique style for the second time to Belfast’s Comedy Basement. Bringing with him extensive experience, gigging in New York, Los Angeles, London and more recently throughout I…reland, Shantz is one act not to be missed!

http://www.myspace.com/shantzcomedy

Supporting Eric will be UK’s AL COWIE. Having shared a bill with acts from Mitch Benn, Robin Ince, Andi Osho, Paul Sinha, Terry Alderton and Felix Dexter, and with appearances on both TV and radio, Al is a rising comedic star and a quality act, having extensive experience throughout the country including a 44 run show at the Edinburgh Festival.

Your compere for the evening will be Northern Ireland’s own RUAIDHRÍ WARD. Ruaidhrí is one of the stand out comedians on the Belfast scene at the moment and we are delighted to have him compere the Comedy Basement this month. “It’s rare you see something as original these days.” – Tony Law.

This is shaping up to be a great way to get some high quality chuckles in before the sobriety of the new year hits us all! So don’t miss out!

Comedy Basement @ McHughs
Thursday 30th December
Doors at 7.30pm – Show at 8.45pm (Advise you turn up early to get seats!)
Entrance: £5.00
Discounts for large groups, feel free to contact info@comedybasement.co.uk if you’re planning a really large group!

That’s all for now, feel free to drop us a line at info@comedybasement.co.uk!

Thanks!
Neill

There will be no Comedy Basement this coming Thursday (25th November) as we are busy preparing for a special End of Year Comedy Extravaganza on the 30th December, featuring top comedians from home and abroad to help celebrate another year of hilarity passing! More details to follow in the coming month, keep your eyes on this website for more information!

Secondly, there’s an awesome event on at Belfast’s Elmwood Hall on the 25th November as part of the charity Concern’s fundraising, FASTIVAL is providing some great comedy entertainment in the form of Tim McGary, Kevin McAleer and Jake O’Kane, with Comedy Basement favourite Ruaidhrí Ward supporting the trio! Great charity and a great comedy night out! Check it out here!

So that’s all for now folks, so don’t forget, earmark Thursday 30th December for a Comedy Basement special to end another year of comedy at McHughs and this coming Thursday for Fastival Laughs!
See yous in December!

Neill

Comedy Basement

The Comedy Basement returns on THURSDAY 28th OCTOBER bringing you the cream of the crop of local comedic talent, many of whom have bringing their solo shows to the Belfast Festival

This time round, the Comedy Basement presents:

SEAN HEGARTY
Fresh from his first solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Sean Hegarty returns to the Comedy Basement bringing his likeable personality and snappy one liners along with him. The Lurgan comedian is most notably recognised for his winning appearance on the BBC NI Show, Find Me The Funny, where he was one of six winners in the competition.

“Very very funny!” – Jason Manford (Comedian)

“Great show. He handled a tough crowd like an old pro! Hope to work with him again soon!” – Jake O’Kane (BBC’s Blame Game & MC for The Empire Comedy Club Belfast)

ADAM LAUGHLIN
Expect well-constructed gags, bizarre and surreal set pieces, an unending energy and an undeniably hilarious stage presence. He has played venues such as The Pavilion Bar, Voicebox Comedy, The Empire and Lavery’s Bar.

MARCUS KEELEY
The man behind the successful underground Belfast comedy gig, The Voicebox, brings his delightful mixture of “old beyond his years” ryness and a unique approach to stand up comedy.

The evening will be presided over by the zany George Quinn, a professional magician who has now taken his love of physical comedy, bizarre prop work and rambling musings into the field of stand up comedy.

That’s it folks, we hope to see you all there at McHughs Basement bar for The Comedy Basement at McHughs!

Thursday 28th October
McHughs Basement Bar
Doors: 7.30pm
Show: 8.45pm
£4.00 entrance
Bring all your friends and tell everyone ;)

For more information, visit our website, drop us an email, visit us on Facebook or Twitter! (No excuses! :p)
http://www.comedybasement.co.uk
info@comedybasement.co.uk
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=45153104373
http://twitter.com/ComedyBasement

Thanks folks and see you all there!

Neill
Comedy Basement

Quick update for you – one of the Comedy Basement’s favourite performers, Ruaidhrí Ward will be presenting his own comedy show at the Safehouse Arts Gallery, entitled Cats & Dogs. Living Together. Mass Hysteria.

As part of the first ever Belfast Fringe of The Queen’s Festival, Belfast comic Ruaidhrí Ward presents a bitingly witty look at contemporary culture, modern life in Northern Ireland, & his own selfish existence.

Also appearing are Guests, Enda Muldoon, Morgan Hearst, & All Ireland Poetry Slam winner Séamus Fox.

“It’s rare you see something as original these days.” – Tony Law. Edinburgh & Beyond, Comedy Cuts, Channel 4’s – Does Doug Know?

” Ruaidhrí is one of the most gifted stand-ups on the scene, naturally engaging on stage, great material and killer delivery. If only his name wasn’t so hard to spell he’d go a long way. All those vowels on a poster, madness!” – Joe Lindsay. BBC Radio Ulster. Palookaville DJ’s.

Admission – £5
Doors: 8.30pm
Show: 9.00pm (Sharp!) – 11.00pm

Please note – This is a Bring Your Own Booze event.

Location guide: http://www.safehousearts.org.uk/location

This is one show not to be missed! For more information on the event, check out the Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=124864337564249&ref=nf

Thanks – and we look forward to seeing you all at our next Comedy Basement gig on the 30th September.

Cheers,
Neill
Comedy Basement

Hi Folks,

The next gig at the Comedy Basement at McHughs is just two weeks away, so no better time than now to let you know about some of the great acts we have for you.

Building from last months success, we’ll be bringing Belfast comedy regular, Ruaidhrí Ward back to the Comedy Basement. Ruaidhrí Ward has been performing comedy since Spring 2009, but has been galled at humanity & himself all of his life. This impotent anger has been fuelling his performances across Ireland & is the futile glue that holds together his sharp, bitingly witty perspective on contemporary culture, which is intelligent, funny, cliché-free, at times surreal and ultimately pointless.

Headlining the evening will be a Northern Ireland native who is plying his trade in Scotland, Jeff O’Boyle.

Drawing inspiration from particularly diverse influences, Jeff has entertained audiences on subjects ranging from the peculiarities of his rural Ireland to confessions of a Jihadi window cleaner.

In 2008 Jeff made his fringe debut as part of a four-piece of Stand regulars with the show, No Comedy for Old Men. In 2009, the team re-united with the hit, sell-out show, The Silence of the Trams, as part of the Stand’s record-breaking fringe programme.

Fringe 2009:
Best jokes of the fringe – Independent
Best jokes of the fringe – Scotsman

‘Hilarious…brilliant…great material’ **** Scotsman

‘Had the audience in peels of laughter’ **** One4review.com

This is, yet again, a show not to be missed at the Comedy Basement! Your guest MC for the evening will be regular MC of the fantastic ‘underground’ Voicebox Comedy, Marcus Keeley.

So, the crucial details:

Thursday 26th August 2010
McHughs Basement Bar
Doors: 7.30pm, Show: 8.45pm
£4.00 in
Bring lots of friends :D

Thats it for now, see you all then!

Comedy Basement

Once again, apologies to you guys for the fact that Tanyalee Davis wasn’t able to make the gig as advertised due to unforeseeable circumstances.

That being said, those who went along with us anyway were in for a real comedy treat as once again the Comedy Basement delivered top notch comedy at one of the best prices available.

Your emcee for the evening was Graeme Watson who did a commendable job in guiding us through the evenings entertainment.

First up for the evening was Comedy Basement favourite Morgan Hearst whose unique comedy was the perfect opener to get the crowd going and letting them know what was in store for them.

Following Morgan, Liam Watson returned the Comedy Basement with an even more professional and polished act that I suspect we will be seeing a lot more of in the future around the comedy scene here.

Alan Fletcher returned to Belfast and the Comedy Basement with a performance of particular note, the Newcastle based comedian proved that Northern Irish comedy can travel well and still find its roots.

The penultimate act of the evening, Ciarán Barlett, stormed into his set from the get go and never lost any of the energy that we’ve come to expect from him and kept us laughing all the way.

Last and most certainly not least, the headliner act for the evening was the respected Neil Dougan who did a sterling job in rounding up a great evening of local comedy.

Massive thank you to the acts named above, thanks to these guys we are fast developing a reputation for delivering quality comedy at a low price.

However, most of all, thank you for coming to our gigs and continuing to show your support for local comedy at the Comedy Basement at McHughs Bar. We’ll be back on Thursday 26th August.

If you want to keep in touch with whats happening at the Comedy Basement, there are plenty of ways to do so.

If you wish to join our mailing list and receive regular gig updates, you can do so by dropping an email to info@comedybasement.co.uk and just put ‘Mailing List’ in the subject. Alternatively, you can do the same using our contact form on our website.

You can also find out more information about us on Twitter and Facebook.

If you want to contact us for any reason, such as sponsorship, corporate events, reserving seats or indeed if you’re interested in giving stand up comedy a go yourself, feel free to contact me at info@comedybasement.co.uk

Once again, huge thank you to all our acts this evening and indeed a massive thank you to everyone who turned up to make this such a great night!

Cheers and see you on the 26th August!

Neill
Comedy Basement

The Comedy Basement will be running this month on a different day of the week. This month, we’ll be running on Tuesday 27th July with a very special gig, where we’ll be introducing Tanyalee Davis to our fans. Tanyalee describes herself as “the ferrari of comedy – low to the ground and kind of racy”. Tanyalee has toured the world, appearing in many TV comedy shows and has many awards to her name, this is one act not to be missed! For more information on Tanyalee, visit her myspace page at: http://www.myspace.com/tanyaleedavis#ixzz0tqomd7mG

On the same bill, you’ll get see some of the best talent Northern Ireland has to offer, including Liam Watson and the evening will be headlined by Neil Dougan (http://www.comedycv.co.uk/neildougan/index.htm).

The evening will be hosted by Graeme Watson of Big Laugh’s Belfast.

So, to recap, this is going to be an excellent night of quality comedy, one of the hottest line ups you’ll find this summer at the usual cost of £4.00

The important details are:

Tuesday 27th July
Comedy Basement @ McHughs Basement Bar
£4.00 in
9:00pm start – sharp! (I’d recommend you get there for 8.30 to get a seat!)

For any enquiries or to make a reservation, please contact info@comedybasement.co.uk and we’ll try out best to accomodate your needs.

Check out the facebook page for this gig at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=118954444817261

Thanks – and hopefully see you there! :)

Apologies for the lack of updates recently, and thank you for your patience. You’ll have been informed that the June gig at the Comedy Basement was cancelled for the Summer.

However, we are pleased to announce that we will be back this month on a different date. The next Comedy Basement gig will be on TUESDAY 27th JULY at McHughs Basement Bar.

Stay tuned as we get more informatino on our line up but remember, the Comedy Basement this month will be on TUESDAY 27th JULY.

We’ll try to get more details to you asap.

Once again, thanks for all your support of the Comedy Basement and we’ll hopefully see you this month :)

Thanks,

Comedy Basement

Once again, apologies for depriving you of your Comedy Basement last mont but we’re back in full swing this month with our montly show returning on Thursday 27th May (thats next Thursday :D).

We’ve got a bit of a bumper show featuring some of the hottest comedians on the local scene at the moment, most of whom have recently succeeded at the renowned Belfast Empire.

Full details will be announced later this week but to whet your appetite, you’ll be seeing ADAM LAUGHLIN headlining, with MARCUS KEELEY, AIDAN CONWAY, JIM MCGRATH and SHANE TODD will be emceeing proceedings.

That’s Thursday 27th May, show starts at 9pm so try to head down for 8.30pm – £4 into the venue and you can find us in McHughs Bar Basement.

Enjoy!

Comedy Basement

Unfortunately, we are unable to bring you the Comedy Basement at McHughs this month due to unforseen circumstances. It’s regrettable but alls fair!

But, comedy folks, don’t be discouraged as there’s plenty going on in and around Belfast this April to get your funny bones going (and not hurting in the unusual way they normally do) so have a peek around the world wide web to find out more!

So to recap: there will be no Comedy Basement this month.

HOWEVER, do not fear, we will be returning on THURSDAY 27th MAY 2010 with a line up that will literally* rock your socks.

Comedy Basement
*Line up may not actually have any impact, positive or otherwise, on the state of your socks.