Ralph Oswick writes:
HENNING WEHN: Upstairs @ Bath Pizza Co
Review - Thursday 18th April 2024
From our Secret Customer in Seat 13.
Whereas the buzzing Bath Comedy space at The Ring O Bells feels very fringy and the ideal improvised pop up let's-give-it- a-go venue, Bath Pizza Company's new upstairs room feels more like one of the smaller venues in Edinburgh's prestigious Assembly Rooms. In other words, fringy but classy.
There are comfy chairs, an impressive bar and possibly Bath's best pizzas downstairs.
Add to this an audience with Germany's Official Comedy Ambassador, Henning Wehn, and you have the perfect Bath Comedy gig.
The place is small enough for all the adoring fans to feel they are being addressed personally. They are pleased to be in his presence! When I commented later that the audience seemed old, Henning said 'Ha, much younger than my normal crowd!' So, lower middle aged shall we say?
Anyways, seasoned afficionados to a tee, they revelled in the first half of old favourites. Dying for him to do the 'how I learned Cockney' routine, they weren't disappointed. German efficiency (apologies for a five-minute delay to the start), Brexit and countless other sure-fire material went down well. And of course, we willingly clapped along to what was then claimed to be a Hitler Youth anthem. We are but sheep!
In the interval we filled in Henning's postcards, the best of which were read out in part two. What did we think was the biggest threat to the environment? Quite a few people mentioned the proliferation of free pens for filling in said cards!
The second half was new stuff. All about global warming, over-consumption, but not in a pushy agit-prop way. If anything, the material, or at least the delivery, was less pointed than expected considering the punning title of the show, Acid Wehn. But just as funny, disarming and generally endearing as the first half, with added thinking points.
The two Bath shows were try-outs, of which this consummate professional delivers almost a dozen before launching into the big venues. Up close but not too intimate, it was a joy to be there.
And talking of big venues, Henning's honed and perfectly formed new show will be at Bath Forum NEXT April, on the 11th to be precise. Click here for details
At the time of writing nearly 70 seats have already sold!
BATH COMEDY CLUB: REVOLUTION
Review - Sunday 30th October 2022
Featuring Chris McGlade, Philip Simon, Adam Flood, Adele Cliff and Sam Hawkins
I've donned my independent reviewer hat this week, there being no ace Fleet Street correspondent attending this particular event.
Well, said correspondent, you missed a terrific evening's entertainment, to which I present four and threequarters stars. Why not five? Well, nothing's perfect. No lift for a start, and amongst all the fresh young things in the audience, there were several oldies with walking sticks (myself included) who practically had to crawl up that grand staircase. The venue offers an impressive array of exotic cocktails on a two for one basis. This inevitably leads to long waits at the bar. Many stickless youngsters found it quicker to sprint down said stairs to get served at the main bar. But I can only do one staircase a day. One up, one down.
This little venue is gradually getting noticed by the chuckling classes. It's very cosy, with its glittery curtain and battery candles, cabaret style. Although one of the comedians described it as resembling a funeral parlour and even the set for a second rate Judge Judy, you can see a sterling effort has been made to disguise the hen party ambience that pervades the whole building.
And on that side, the timing of these club nights fits nicely into the calm before the storm. As the last act hurries to finish, the shrieking begins and the DJ leaps into full-volume action. Comedy punters are allowed into the disco bar for free, so you could, should you wish, take in a sophisticated comedy show and then find yourself twerking with the mother of the bride, clutching her giant inflatable penis. Truly a cultural roller coaster!
As for this week's show, I think it was the best of the series so far. An excellent compere in the shape of Sam Hawkins, who hardly looks old enough to be admitted, kept things moving along at a decent lick. Which is surely the job of a compere, not telling us their life stories or recounting lurid sex exploits. Leave that to the comedians! And with four of them crammed into a relatively short 'window', speed and brevity is the motto of the day.
The result, a cracking show, with all the acts presenting compact, pacey and utterly hilarious spots in satisfyingly contrasting styles.
I'm not going into detail about every performer's contribution to this ebullient show. If you want that, you should have been there. And on that subject, why weren't you there? Four acts and an ace compere for twelve quid is surely the comedy bargain of the week.
Highlights for me (so I can earn my critic's fee) were Adam Flood's slick and endearingly barbed manipulation of his auto-tune. (Sashay away Cher, come in Adam!) and the astonishing rant delivered sans microphone and literally in yer face by Chris McGlade, he of the funeral parlour jibe. I presume ranting is the raison d'etre of his act, but to tune it so perfectly to the venue and those present was a masterpiece of observational improvisation. And you get the feeling that he wasn't making it up, he really meant most of it. Including his dismay at driving five and a half hours to find an audience of about 25 people, and all of them southern jessies! Not to mention the five-and-a-half-hour journey back home. (Again, where were you??)
Thank you Nick (aka “the sweaty man from Jurassic Park” according to Mr McGlade!), a terrific evening's entertainment, and home in time for News at Ten (another bag of laughs, not).
Ralph Oswick
My weekly column in Bath Chronicle is the only thing worth reading in the whole paper, according to a straw poll carried out amongst all five of the city's Uber drivers..
Visit Ralph's blog for a selected archive of 'column inches' at www.ralphoswick.co.uk
