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WELCOME
This blog will give you information about the comedy night held on the first Tuesday of every month. The venue is The Fox & Grapes pub in Fox Street, Preston and is easily accessible by public transport or car. Best of all, admission is absolutely FREE.
The event is compered by MC Alan Donegan (pictured)
We will post pictures of previous evenings as well as details of forthcoming acts. Copyright permitting we may even post short video clips of the performers in full flow.
It would be really helpful if you attend a performance for you to let us know what you thought about the comedians, the organisation, the atmosphere, the venue - even the beer!
The Fox
Setting off for The Fox and Grapes on Tuesday I was a bit doubtful about how this one would go down. Many people would be just back from holidays, the schools started back that week and the weather was, to put it politely, filthy. Would people turn out in these circumstances? Well friends, I underestimated your resilience and your need to be cheered up a bit. As it turned out there was an excellent showing, with to these eyes, a good representation of newcomers.
The next piece of good news was that we had three acts on rather than the two we had expected. Could the quality be up to standard? I should never have doubted MC Alan and his ability to come up with the goods.
First up was a female comedian from Burnley, Mel Moon. Mel started off well with some banter with the crowd and went for the sympathy vote with mention of her recent accident. The insurance payment helped her buy her keyboard which she used to help serenade us with some cracking musical comic pieces. I bet Mel is fed up with the Victoria Wood comparisons but it doesn't do either of them a disservice to make them. A great start to the evening.
Next up was our surprise act. Wanting to try out some new material in front of a critical audience Dom Woodward had asked Alan if he could fill the showcase slot. Some of you may remember that Dom was with us a few months ago and I don't think it's unfair to say his set was a little patchy that night. Well done to him for braving The Fox and Grapes again, and even better he was very, very good. He had learned lessons from the previous performance and had us in stitches from the start. Only one or two jokes failed to hit the mark and they were soon forgotten in the torrent of laughs that soon followed. Two down, one to go, could the headliner follow such a great undercard?
No problem. Ciamh McDonnell hit the ground running with a series of self-deprecating observations about his hair, his size, his accent, his age ... He already had the crowd eating out of his hand and despite the occasional heckle, which he handled masterfully, we were with him all the way. He has a look of Dermot Morgan (Father Ted) and sounds a bit like Dara O' Briain but he had a style of his own which proved hugely popular. I can highly recommend seeking him out if you missed the evening.
So there we have it. In my humble opinion the standard of entertainment was the most consistently high that I can remember at the Foxsake night. Believe me, you won't want to miss any night from now on. Get there early to get a good spot. Special thanks to the bar staff for their work in keeping us supplied with drinks and acting as unofficial security when the talking got too loud! Thanks once again to Sharon, the landlady, for supporting the evening.
See you all soon.
The Fox
Another night of top entertainment at The Fox and Grapes. The conditions for the players of both sides were difficult, with a sweltering atmosphere draining some of the players early on, owing to the decision by the stadium management to leave the roof closed but the main men seemed to rally and delivered a great performance.MC Alan had this time decided to pull a flanker with two definitely left field acts followed by a crowd pleasing mainstreamer to tap in the goals late on, ensuring a comfortable home win.First up we had Poxy, Urban Painter and Decorator. Poxy turned out to be Salford's answer to Banksy and entertained us with sharp banter and well constructed visual aids. With a bit more exposure this guy could be attracting the attention of the big clubs before long.Next up we had 'Sir' Richard Swan, someone who has graced the turf of The F & G earlier in his career before The Fox became involved. I had no idea what to expect, other than the word from a scout (not the Baden-Powell sort) who was present, and said "People either get Richard or they don't. There is no middle ground." Never a truer word ... I really enjoyed Mr Swan's act, which was far from the norm. I thought it was a well thought out, brave and provocative performance that had me laughing out loud. However, the alternative view from the terraces was, and I quote, "Self-indulgent crap." Anyone who can provoke such differing opinions is doing something right and whilst I may not have been in the majority on Tuesday I would like to see Richard again.To finish off the evening we had the 'Mackem Mouth', Mark Rough. Mark concentrated on the traditional comedian's approach of straight joke-telling and apart from one baffling foray where he appeared to be bearing down on his own goal by engaging in some inadvisable personal insults he had the audience with him all the way. A consummate professional Mark read the audience well and stuck to his strengths. A real crowd pleaser who sent everyone away chuckling. And is there any better way to come away from a comedy night?Top marks again to Alan for his hosting of the event and what a pleasure it was to welcome back our old friend, "I don't come round to your place knocking ..."Next month's headliner is Seymour Mace so don't miss 2nd September.
The Fox
