Well, there we have it, last Blizzard Comedy of 2022 – only had to cancel 2 of them, that’s a vast improvement from 2021 and 2020.
What a phenomenal show we had to close the year out too, almost a full room, a stacked line-up full of Blizzard charm, and some of the best jokes about bears I’ve ever heard in my life.
Our last show in the year was in the capable hands of Tom Short.
Tom is a regular star of every show he’s in, whether he’s playing clowning games with the audience in a non-threatening way, deconstructing the very medium of stand-up comedy, or bringing the energy out of an audience as an unbelievably good host. Tom’s delivery is fairly low energy, which can often be a recipe for disaster in a host, but his material and stage presence was so good that he managed to prepare the room for an evening of delightful leftist alternative comedy without breaking a sweat – something I can only dream of.
He’s charming, delightful, and with a creative mind unrivalled on the circuit. Think the golden age of whimsical surrealist comedy in the 2000s but without the random out of place blackface and transphobia. An essential asset to any line-up he’s on.
Opening the show is the equally as hilarious but conversely manic and a little bit terrifying Eliott Simpson.
Eliott is another favourite of our club, and is definitely as weird and wonderful as Tom, but far from being low energy, Eliott barrels onto the stage and immediately has you in hysterics with some of the sharpest gag writing that’d put Tim Vine to shame.
Elliott’s set is both a really accessible guide to the Asexual spectrum, a queer community that is really lacking in decent representation in comedy, and an incredibly engaging alternative stage presence that means both the most hardcore comedy nerds and your average club audience is bound to love him.
What more is there to say, Eliott is a born entertainer.
After the interval we had Craig Wilson. Craig, like Tom, had me in hysterics for reasons I can’t quite explain. Putting the brakes on from the chaos of Eliott’s set, Craig is a lot more laid back and puts you instantly at ease. Craig has the coolness of someone who doesn’t even seem like he’s trying to make you laugh, yet everything he says has you gasping for breath over raucous laughter. With jokes about how both his name and appearance is that of a generic and forgettable white man, Craig still sticks out on the line-up by being the person you most want to buy a drink. He is the loveliest, most charming boy, and you get the impression he could tell you your dog’s just died and you’d still have a smile on your face.
Craig is just pure fun charm, and proof, if it were needed, that the funniest people don’t need to be edgy or provocative – sometimes you can just give a nice boy a microphone and his anecdotes and musings will have you in stitches more than Ricky Gervais or Dave Chapelle ever could in their decades of industry experience.
After Craig we had Maxine Wade, who is also a delightfully charming character on stage. There’s a warmth to Maxine, that whether she’s telling you about her massive cleavage or the struggles of working in the NHS after 12 years of Tory rule, you’re going to have a great time.
Maxine’s persona is full of timeless and inoffensive cheek which is really refreshing to see after watching back my own smut-filled sets and realizing I’m actually just a pretty gross human being.
But more than that, like Eliott, Maxine just has a very natural and effortless presence that makes her an incredibly engaging entertainer. In fact, I’d love her and Eliott to host a gameshow together. That dynamic would be electric, and I can see that getting to prime time in no time.
Maxine writes great gags, tells great stories, and leaves a lasting impression even in her short set with us – definitely someone to watch out for in the future, and if you see her on in your area, go and see her, you’re in for an absolute treat.
And closing our last show of 2022 we had Ishi Khan. There was a trend with the acts today, they all came from different walks of life, were very different people and had a variety of voices. One thing they have in common is they’re all fucking lovely, charming, and excitable people that really made tonight’s show an uplifting experience for everyone after 12 months of *gestures broadly at everything*.
Comedians at Ishi’s level, I’ve noticed, often become jaded with gigs after a while and lose the passion for it. Hell, I’m nowhere near her level and my passion for performing is at an all time low. But when Ishi gets on that stage, one of the things that really springs to mind is just how much fun she’s having. Comedy is supposed to be a fun job, and no one embodies that more than Ishi Khan. Even when she tells gags that make a room full of white people unsure whether they can laugh or not, she is revelling in that and loving the reaction while clearly lapping up her own brilliant jokes.
I honestly do not know how she has as much energy as she does. Without spoiling the set, she has an immaculate talent for extracting so much more comedy out of a simple premise than any of her peers. Ishi isn’t just a great comedian, she’s a world class writer and performer who serves as an inspiration to us all.
One thing’s for sure, an evening with Ishi Khan will be full of joy and laughter, and you owe it to yourself to give her a watch!
And that was our last Blizzard Comedy show of 2022. It’s had its ups and its slightly less up ups, we’ve had headliners I never would’ve dreamed of getting on when I started this show in 2019, I’ve seen new acts to me who’ve absolutely blown my mind, I’ve seen old favourites grow into true seasoned professionals. And along the way I’ve had unforgettable evenings full of laughter. I hope we’ve done the same for you.
If you missed our last show, you can still experience it via Twitch.tv/blizzardcomedy on Monday 12th December at 7:00pm – and for 14 days afterwards on VOD.
And if you’re not already following us on Twitch – we have two more livestreams coming up, 19th December with Katie Mitchell, Kirstie Summers, Craig Wilson, Eddie French, Righteous Lion & Sam Lake for our last BCBA of the year – and our double length new year special on the 2nd January with Bobbie Jones, Katie Mitchell, Kirstie Summers, Cameron Sinclair-Harris, Eliott Simpson and Tom Short.
