Palmerama’s Comedyrama
EBM HUMPHREYS explores a new regular stand-up comedy event
On the last Friday of June, we headed down to Tin Tins – by now the longest-running bar in the Robertson Street area – for Palmerama’s Comedyrama, a regular, free-entry affair held in the front room. It’s charismatic, with a fetish for Belgian beers and only occasionally a drunken heckler. Let’s be honest, the mild emotional peril of a heckle adds to the atmosphere.
Compère Dan hits a likeable tone, warming the audience without fully conforming to either comedy stereotype – superiority or self-deprecation. He’ll hover between them, going in unpredictably for a groan or a laugh or even a wave of sympathy. And since this is a bar, and it is Friday night, he’s the one act you’ll get to see in both sober and slightly inebriated versions.
Kicking off with cheeky, saucy songs from musician Philip Milburn and ending with some even ruder comic poetry from legend Sue Hicks (sold out at Hastings Comedy Festival), we heard more words for the female genitalia – all rhyming – than in the average year, including some I’d forgotten. Cl*nge anyone?
Besides the (per)verse we were entertained by four other classic stand-up performers, precisely half of whom featured bodily fluids in their jokes. Bilal Rashid has been doing some genealogy and made a remarkable discovery; and award-winning Siobhan Dodd had plenty to say about breastfeeding. The ever-smiling Rainer Haag had a lot to say about his compatriots the Germans, including some incisive cultural comparisons, and Neville Raven shared tall tales of his father’s lightning ripostes.
Personally, I like the intimacy and inclusivity generated when a comic is openly testing new jokes and making fun of themselves when they flop. It’s like being consulted and entertained at the same time. That’s what makes this night special – it feels like a small community that’s come together for maximum silliness while nevertheless taking their art very seriously.
If you like stand-up and you haven’t visited the Comedyrama yet, you have a treat in store. It seems to attract dating couples,and rightly so; it’s a perfect way to discover each other’s tastes and, dare I say, politics. But there’s space here for a bigger crowd, be it poor publicity or stiff Friday-night competition, I admire Dan’s ability to pull in such good acts for a free show. Not every comedian can please every punter, and this is a place where new acts are supported, but I can’t think of anything better to kick off the weekend than a good belly laugh in a living-room atmosphere.
Palmerama’s Comedyrama takes place at Tin Tins from 8.00pm on the last Friday of each month.
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What a fabulous review. Sad I missed it now. Got carried away grouting my kitchen tiles. An evening to look forward to in the future.