Travestees Comedy Club at Tor Leisure Centre - 30 March 2011

Wednesday night saw what was billed as the last Travestees Comedy Show of the season at the Tor Leisure Centre in Glastonbury (although as became evident during the evening there will be another in May. 

Last minute compere for the evening was plastic Geordie Richard Morton.  Apparently the club had forgotten to book an MC for the evening and so Richard stepped in at the last minute.   Faced with a couple of rows of empty tables and seats at the front of the room as he bounced on the stage was probably quite daunting for him (some people seemed to prefer standing at the back even though seats were available), but he didn’t seem to let this phase him

Gratingly irritating from the offset (but enjoyable nevertheless), Richard came across as a third Chuckle Brother who perhaps had sunk a few too many Redbulls before the gig.  Gabbling and hyperactive with the nature of an overzealous  kids’ TV presenter, he spent most of his time throwing his arms in the air, calling us “pet” and generally being a thoroughly chirpy chappy.   He’d learned enough about the local area to throw in quips about Shepton Mallet and Street, as well as giving us an anecdote about playing the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil.  There were a couple of musical interludes: a song about the Royal Family in time for the Royal Wedding and some reinterpretations of hoary old numbers by the likes of Led Zep, the Beatles ,  the Who and even Wet Wet Wet (as if sung by the acts in their fading years).  Less confrontational than many comperes, he didn’t pick on the audience and although his material didn’t break any boundaries he did a more than adequate job.

Gareth Richards was fantastic (apart from an annoying cold he was suffering from tonight).   Audience interaction and silly one liners was sprinkled into a routine of ridiculous observational comedy concerning for example naming children (he called his daughter Adele – after his laptop), the fact his mother takes photos of him smiling in case he goes missing (no one would look for a miserable child); Sat Nav shopping with his Dad; or the use of power sockets on trains to do his ironing.  As a finale he finished with a song “Dave the Fridge”, which became more ridiculous and tenuous by the verse as he strummed along on an Omnichord (no, I’d never heard one of those either).

Sarf Londoner Meryl O’Rourke was the filthiest act of the night.  Sitting quietly at the side of the stage as she awaited her introduction, she looked like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth ; but once on stage she ain’t no lady and she hit us with tales of having a baby, lactating, an irritating husband, living in Lambeth, and general woman’s stuff; Meryl delighted in watching 16 year old Jack in the audience squirm as she flirted and made outrageously suggested comments to him, while in a vagina monologue she “waxed” lyrical  about  an accident in a beauty salon, and all the while bemoaned the fact that while she looks to be about 25 (yes she does), she is within spitting distance of 40.

Scouse headliner Chris McCausland is probably the only professional blind comic on the UK comedy circuit, but he doesn’t bang on about his disability, although he does remind us early on that we could all leave if we didn’t like him and he wouldn’t notice.   His material is shrewdly observant, conversational, full of self-deprecating anecdotal material and much of it carefully and intuitively dissects his relationship with his girlfriend: living in a minute studio flat; falling out of a bed 6 feet off the ground; the joys of sleeping in the spare room; being bashed on the bonce with a tub of olives falling from the fridge and going all the way to Brazil for a can of Skol lager.  It was all good natured stuff and at the same time very funny with it.

The next (and final) Travestees show of the season will take place on Wednesday 25th May 2011 with a line-up still to be announced.