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.

Coming up to that time again – the 3rd Comedy Basement of the year thus far. So, I’m going to take a moment here to thank you all for supporting the Comedy Basement at McHughs for the previous two gigs this year and hope to keep the great momentum going. So, without further ado:

The Comedy Basement @ McHughs (Thursday 25th March) Presents:

GEMMA HUTTON
Gemma started doing stand up comedy when she entered BBC Northern Ireland’s Find me the Funny. However, after realising the banality of the show and referencing it as, and I quote, “a pile of pish”, Gemma turned her attention to the  old school method by doing as many gigs all round the place to gain valuable experience. Having performed at the Ulster Hall and Belfast’s renowned Empire, Gemma has gigs lined up in Manchester next month with the infamous Laughing Cows group who feature comedy stalwarts such as Jo Brand.

RUAIDHRÍ WARD
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.

MATTHEW COLLINS
Some know him as the best beard in Irish comedy, others as the keyboard wizard, and still others as the wicker work fairy light man from BBC Northern Ireland’s Great Unanswered Questions. Whatever you know him as he’s hard to forget.

A truely International comedian, Matthew gigs regularly in the many great comedy clubs of Dublin and Belfast. (Ok so international comedian is stretching it a bit and you need to recognise a somewhat sticky political situation, but hey Im tryin to make myself sound important here).

Matthews comedy is probably best described as semi intellegent, quasi intellectual bullshit. Basically hes a nerd with a sense of humour and an obsession with the 1980’s, superheroes and general mirth.

Your emcee (or Director of Fun as I like to call it) will be MICKY BARTLETT (BBC’s Find Me The Funny, The Empire, Big Laughs)

Plus, we’ll have performances from Aaron Marshall and the audience will get to cast their eyes over some of the newest names in comedy in Belfast.

Sounds like a cracker! The important details are:

THURSDAY 25th March
Doors: 8pm
Show: 9pm
£4.00
McHughs’ Basement Bar

Neill
Comedy Basement

Apologies for the lack of updates recently! The next gig will be on the 25th March 2010 with a full line up to be announced late next week! There’ll be some faces you may have seen on TV recently so stay tuned for that!

Lastly, massive thank you to all who came out to the gig last month, it was a riot. Well, not literally, but it was a great gig all around with excellent performances from Seamus Carabine, Damien Hickey, Liam Watson, Simon McCullagh, Paddy McGaughey and a good first time performance by Michael McConkey.

Of course, big props go to our guest emcee, Graeme Watson.

A good night was had by all and I hope to see you down at the Basement this month on Thursday 25th March 2010.

Thanks,

Comedy Basement

SEAMUS CARABINE

A vetern of the comedy scene here, Seamus has been performing stand up since 2000. After winning the Feile Open Mic competition in July 2000, Seamus’ success in the comedy world kept coming. With a further win at the Cathedral Quarter Open Mic in 2001 and the semi final of Channel 4’s ‘So You Think You’re Funny’ in 2002 and a semi final appearnce in RTE’s Raw in 2003, Seamus definitely knows how to bring you the funny. With further appearcnes on BBC’s One Night Stand and at the Boston Comedy Festival, Seamus is atalented and experienced stand up comic not to be missed!

PADDY MCGAUGHEY

A stalwart of the Northern Irish comedy scene, Paddy is a finalist of an Ireland-wide search for new stand up comedians, a regular on the Belfast scene and current runner of the Braid Comedy Club, Paddy brings a likeable and hilarious performance to any gig.

MC: GRAEME WATSON
Graeme Watson is a lovely, winsome chap who grew up in a small village near Larne, but who usually pretends he didn’t (until pressed)

Born in 1980, Graeme first dabbled in stand-up in his late teens and early 20s, performing in venues such as Queen’s Student Union, The Empire, and the Comedy Cellar (Dublin). In 2008, Graeme decided to stop dabbling and dive in, and has been heavily involved in the development of Belfast’s alternative comedy scene. A resident MC at Big Laughs Comedy Open Mic Night in Belfast’s Pavilion Bar, Graeme is also a favourite on the local circuit, teasing audiences with his intelligent whimsy and self-deprecating musings about life (so he reckons).

Plus more acts, including Simon McCullagh, to be announced!

So come down to the Comedy Basement in McHugh’s basement bar on Thursday 25th February for another night of great comedy:

THURSDAY 25th February
Doors: 8pm
Show: 9pm
£4.00
McHughs’ Basement Bar

Neill
Comedy Basement

Facebook Group: View

Twitter: View

That’s all for now, folks, remember the next gig will be on Thursday 25th February. Line ups will be annocunced closer to the gig – also be on the look out for some changes, we may be getting a new website soon. We’ll also be launching our online mailing list soon so you can keep up to date with us that way if you dislike Facebook or Twitter.

Thanks,

Comedy Basement

First up we had Bellal Yaqub kicking things off. Bellal, featued on BBC Northern Ireland’s Find Me The Funny, got things going with his take on being from Pakistan and living in Northern Ireland. Bellal’s low energy and subtle approach went down well with the crowd on the night and got the audience in the mood for more laughs.

Up next was a comedy virgin performing for their very first time. Ciarán Bartlett took to the mic with the confidence of a comedian who has been doing the rounds for years. This young man delivered his fast-paced set to the delight of the crowd, probably offending everyone in the process, but hey, it was well receieved!

Jason Coburn was next to take to the stage delivering a competent set that showed the man was increasing in confidence on only his third comedy performance.

After the interval, Australia’s Amanda Gray, known for her dead-pan performances, delivered a hilarious view of being a woman in a modern world. Her sharp wit was delivered in a slow and motonous tone that really went well with her persona. The audience loved every word of Amanda’s observations. I am sure we will be hearing more of her in the future.

To top things of another Aussie comedian headlined the show. Michael Connell finished the proceedings with a polished and professional set that was incredibly well received. Connell’s style is fast paced and a little zaney, breaking into harmonica performances throughout his set. Michael’s performance was a highlight of the night as the crowd loved to hear tales of his nerdy up bringing and what it was like growing up in a tiny Australian town.

The emcee for the evening, Shane Todd, complemented the style of all the comedians on the show and kept things running smooth whilst delivering his own brand of well received humour.

All in all, if you missed this show, you missed out on arguably one of the finest comedy performances on the Belfast scene in some time.

The Comedy Basement will be bringing you more packed comedy nights in the coming months with the next one scheduled for Thursday 25th February. We hope to see you all there!

Thanks again to everyone who came last week and provided a fantastic audience for the performers to entertain. Great job to everyone involved! See you in February and stay tuned to the website for more information!

Neill
Comedy Basement

On our first birthday, the Comedy Basement at McHughs presents:

MICHAEL CONNELL

Over the years Michael has had great success within the Comedy Industry. He has performed several shows in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. He has performed to capacity crowds at both the Melbourne Town Hall and Her Majesty’s Theatre, during a half time show at Telstra Dome, appeared on television and radio and regularly gigs at some of the best comedy clubs around Australia.

“…able to gain a strong rapport with the audience very quickly…” – The Cancer Council Victoria

“…both a talented performer and a person of honest character.” – Bendigo Bank

“…nothing short of entertaining.” – Rotaract Club of Wyndham

AMANDA GRAY

Having been on the comedy scene for 2 1/2 years, Amanda has enjoyed a lot of success wherever she has performed. With over 200 gigs to her name, the Australian comedienne has performed at the Stand Comedy Club, Laughing Horse and Laughing Cows in London. Amanda’s deadpan performances have got her to the finals of a national comedy competition in her native Australia for two years running. Amanda has also supported established comedians such as Kitty Flannagan, Eddy Brimson and Steve Hughes. This is one set not to be missed!

Special Guest Emcee – SHANE TODD

Local comedian, radio DJ, actor and one time guest on UTV Life, Shane Todd, returns to the Comedy Basement to perform emceeing duties. Shane is always a hit with the audiences at the Basement and will be in charge this month.

+ MORE ACTS!

If the above wasn’t enough, there’ll be more acts on the night, bringing you a great mix of international comedy talent and more of the rising stars on the domestic scene.

In a nutshell, the Comedy Basement’s Birthday Bash is one not to be missed!

See you there!

Comedy Basement

Welcome to a brand new year! 2010 is going to be a big year for the Comedy Basement. I hope you all didn’t suffer too much withdrawl symptoms, but never fear, the Comedy Basement will be back on Thursday 28th January!

This gig will be celebrating our one year anniversary, so we’re doing our best to bring you the best comedy that your £4 can buy!

To help celebrate our one year anniversary, the Comedy Basement will welcome one of Australia’s finest up and coming comedians, Michael Connell:

“…an absolute blast and really matched with the mixed demographic of the room.” – University of Melbourne Student Union

“…the night could not have happened without your support and charity.” – World Vision

“…both a talented performer and a person of honest character.” – Bendigo Bank

Be sure not to miss this gig!

Stay tuned to the website for further details on the Comedy Basement’s Birthday Gig later this month on the 28th January!

Hope you all had a great festive season and happy new year! Thanks for your patience but we’re very pleased to be back again!

Comedy Basement

Thanks to those who attended the gig on the 29th October in aid of Macmillan Cancer Care.

We raised a total of £112 for the evening, so big thank you to all the acts and audience members involved.

Stay tuned to the Comedy Basement website over the next few days for an important announcement!

Comedy Basement

The line up has been confirmed as the best of the up and coming Northern Irish talent!

DIARMUIRD CORR (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2607780/)
MICKY BARTLETT (BBC Northern Ireland’s Find Me The Funny)
SHANE TODD (Feile FM DJ)
GRAEME WATSON (The Pavillion, Belfast)

Not only do we have film and TV advert stars, Find Me The Funny winners, radio DJs but also regular emcees and performers! What a good line up this is going to be!

You all know the drill, be there at McHughs Bar at approx 7.30 – 8pm!

The cost for the night is £4.00 which will be going to Macmillan Cancer Care! They’re one of the most important charities out there so let’s show them our supporting by having a great night and laughing a lot :)

Remember: FANCY DRESS is the order of the evening! We have prizes to give away for the best costume on the night as well as some little prizes to give away during the show! If nothing else, think of it as a trial run for your Hallowee costume before the big night itself!!!

Ha-Halloween @ The Comedy Basement, McHughs Bar
Thursday 29th October
Doors: 7.30pm
Show: 9pm
Entrance: £4.00 – all proceeds going to Macmillan.
Fancy Dress is really prefered!

See you all there!

Comedy Basement