I have no idea where this last year has gone – but what I do know is that our shows keep getting better. Better audience numbers, variety, better MCing by me (or I’m just so numb to failure I don’t realize, either way, from my point of view it’s the same thing) and acts who are, well equally good, but only because we’ve only been booking the very top tier acts from the very beginning. This month was no exception.
Opening the show we had Patrick Healy, a pretty chilled out act that can really catch you off guard with the wit and power of his punchlines.
There’s something about acts like Patrick who make the whole process of stand-up look effortless and yet completely unattainable at the same time. Patrick is a fucking pro in this aspect, and indeed all other aspects of great comedians. He treads on some dark themes every now and then, but the jokes are so well integrated that it doesn’t feel out of place or too much. Throughout the performance is a sense of underlying honesty that really elevates his set to the next level. Whether he is being honest or stage or not only he will know, but it certainly feels that way from an audience perspective. A master of stage presence and persona.
After the first interval we had Nathan Virica – a relatively new addition to the local circuit following years pursuing a career in music. There is a trope that every successful comedian is a failed musician, but if that’s the case – given Nathan’s charm and cut throat gags – he must’ve failed pretty hard as a musician to be as great at comedy as he is now.
Nathan’s gags may come a little too close to the line for some, but all of his jokes are well thought out and methodically put together, that you can’t help but let loose and laugh.
Seriously, if this is how good Nathan is at the beginning of his stand-up career, I can only imagine how great he’s going to be in a few years’ time. I’m always slightly jealous of acts like him as I’ve been going for over 10 years now, but it took me at least 7 to actually get any good. Nathan is a natural, and the music world’s loss is our gain. Definitely go and watch him next time you get a chance to.
After that we’ve had a long time favourite of Blizzard Streams and an act I’ve wanted to get on for a while now – Kitty Messalina.
Kitty is a born entertainer pure and simple. Like Patrick, the way she performs is effortlessly endearing. But unlike Patrick the tone is a lot more manic and high energy. Kitty is someone who really thrives in front of an audience. Whether she’s telling gags about her past experiences, singing little comedic ditties that put me in mind of the best works of Victoria Wood, or just completely losing her thread and riffing her way back on track without letting up on the charm, gags and engagement that make her so universally beloved by audiences.
Kitty is one of the most unique voices I have heard on the circuit, and she uses that voice to expertly transcend comedic genres to make her more than a comedian, but a cabaret darling, who will go down in history as one of the great entertainers of our generation.
Closing the show, we continue our trend of getting headline acts which I’m baffled want to do our little gig, Charlie George. Along with Olga Koch back in April, Eleanor Morton back in January of 2020 and Jordan Gray who we haven’t managed to get on yet, and probably never well, damn the successful twat, Charlie is someone I first met through the gig that is very much a daddy to us. Yes Daddy, not father – Quantum Leopard.
From the first moment I saw her it was very clear Charlie George was something special – another incredibly unique voice on the circuit, amplified by her very clear and accessible delivery with just the right amount of whimsy to have you crying with laughter, but without making light of the gravity of some of the anecdotes she tells. It’s a hard balance to get right, but she absolutely nails it.
There’s only so much I can say about Charlie because she’s just a fucking fantastic comedian. She’s one of these people who makes me feel the same way I felt the first time I saw Lee Evans on a TV special before I’d even heard of stand-up and was blown away by the experience – or from finding a new comedian on Live at the Apollo who is so damn good but also new and fresh that you genuinely feel like you’re experiencing a huge cultural moment.
Charlie makes me feel that feeling of awe and wonder every time she performs – and gives me even more drive to push myself to be that comedian myself.
An absolute treasure of the circuit, not to be missed ever.
If you didn’t get to see our show live – it will be available for 14 days from 7:00pm on Monday 10th October 2022 on twitch.tv/blizzardcomedy. And you can book tickets to our next live show with headliner Cerys Bradley, with support from Sam Serrano, Benny Shakes, Mark Nicholas and Saeth Wheeler on 14th November 2022 in Gullivers NQ Manchester here: https://www.outsavvy.com/event/10659/blizzard-comedy-live-featuring-cerys-bradley
