I’m feeling pretty emotional not going to lie.
For over 5 years, this has been a focal point of my life. With our last show last Thursday, we’re now taking a much needed break. As thrilled as I am to have time off to relax and refuse to be funny for several weeks, I know for a fact I am going to feel like there’s something missing from my life, and before too long I’ll be desperate to go back.
But before that fateful day, this last show was the greatest send off I could have ever dreamed of, with a stacked line-up full of all time Blizzard faves.
Opening the show, we had the absolute stalwart of the local queer comedy scene Ben Hodge.
Ben is just a pure distillation of camp fun into one man. From his first appearance with us all the way back at the beginning of 2020, before we had to stop doing live shows for reasons I can’t remember – all the way through our livestreams and frequent live show appearances, including previews and MCing – he’s just remained one of the most Blizzard acts we’ve ever had on. He always takes the roof off with his sets, and has a slick and charming wit that makes him a staple of frankly any queer performance of any genre. What a guy, and a perfect man to open our last show.
Next, we had Saeth Wheeler. Saeth is one of the best writers and storytellers in comedy I’ve ever seen. Whatever concept they’re exploring, they will absolutely go to town with their deconstruction, and tie it so beautifully into their own lived experience to create an utterly unique and brilliant set that is always a delight to watch. They are one of my favourite working comedians right now, and I feel so privileged to have got to work with them so often in the last couple of years.
Following them we had Dan Webber. Dan is a poet first and foremost, but still has an outstandingly entertaining stage presence – both in his scripted delivery and his more conversational in-between bits, making you hooked on every single word.
It helps that his poetry based on his queer experiences are genuinely profound and cut through to some of the emotional core of common tropes within the queer community. Stand-up comedy is a tricky skill, but even more so is performing long poetry that, whilst it does have big laughs within, has extended segments with no jokes nor any intention that the audience laughs, and yet still hold a stand-up comedy audience completely enraptured by the monologue.
Dan holds the audience in the palm of his hand. He left a lasting impression with the crowd that a good chunk of us intensely related to and felt seen in a way that none of my silly jokes about bees and cum have ever managed somehow. A wonderful queer artist and a superb compliment to our hiatus show.
Next, we had Mary Cross – who gave us a slightly different angle, being a queer mum, having a different perspective than all of us baby queers often do.
Mary Cross answers the question “What if dad jokes, but lesbian?” The answer is “Yes, yes absolutely, more of that please.” Mary is a really fun joke writer and has a style evocative of a lot of the comedy I grew up with and loved. It’s fun, accessible, little bit cheeky, and all-round good vibes. Ending with a real earworm of a song about her experience parenting a teenager played on the keytar, which is still in my head to this day it’s so catchy.
Mary is just unambiguously funny, and a great watch for really anyone, but especially the kind of folk who come to our shows. She’s absolutely wonderful.
Closing the second section we had the longtime Blizzard fave, Bobbie Jones. I’ve written so many of these about her, as she’s one of our top 5 booked acts (when you include livestreams as well). She’s just always superbly on point, a real expert in crafting comedic ideas into wonderfully whimsical routines that feel almost Izzard-esque in their quality.
Bobbie’s set is a beautiful cacophony of queer, working class, nerdy observations, diving deep into her own experiences and trauma to create some of the best, most inventive, and silliest stand-up comedy I’ve ever seen, and it is immaculately brilliant.
There are only so many ways I can tell you how great she is, so just go check her out if you’ve not seen us already. You are missing out without her comedy in your life.
To close the show we had Laura Monmoth (a.k.a. AngelInterceptor on Twitch). Laura’s appearances on Blizzard are always a spectacle, including on our livestreams but especially her live performances. Laura’s set is a collection of seemingly anything on her mind that she’s fixated on enough to wring comedy out of. Everything from real retro gaming from the microcomputer era and earlier, social media memes and interfaces, and of course her journey of travelling all the way to Land’s End on local bus services. I’m trying to avoid the obvious comparison of comedians doing stunts like these and basing shows around them – but if you are a fan of a certain other comedian who does shit like that, Laura is definitely an act for you.
Laura erratically goes through this journey, getting sidetracked by various local quirks, travel annoyances, and distractions she engaged in to make the journeys go faster. This show condensed into less than half an hour still felt so well rounded and satisfying – but I am dying to see the full thing.
To close the show, she did her famous Facebook karaoke bit – recreating Bohemian Rhapsody with the Facebook names of strangers. And honestly a room full of queer, probably neurodivergent nerds loudly and badly singing along to Bohemian Rhapsody through a slideshow of Facebook strangers from like 2017 is honestly the most perfect way I could’ve thought to end the show.
Laura is profoundly silly in a very specific way that tickles me and, I think, everyone else who comes to our show. She’s utterly unique, distinct, and above all fucking hysterical in ways that can’t be put into words (conveniently, as it means I don’t have to haha). Seriously though she’s a fucking star, check out her Twitch over at https://www.twitch.tv/angelinterceptor to find out why. Thoroughly entertaining for all – but especially for you older millennials/younger gen x’s in our audience. You’re going to particularly pack bond with the kind of content she focuses on and delivers, and will get even more of the niche references that I’ve missed.
And there we go – over 5 years of Blizzard, nearly 100 shows including livestreams and live shows, hundreds of brilliant underground comedy talents and sets, and we’re finally having our first ever holiday. Thanks to you all so much for your support. Special thanks to Kirstie without whom this would never have got past the “this would be nice if it was real” stage. Scarlett, Danny, Andrew, Michael, Cam, Dave, Victoria, Tom, Jason, Joe, and anyone else who’s volunteered to help at the live shows in a backstage or front of house capacity.
And to all of our wonderful Patreon supporters for helping me lose less money on this than I otherwise would. We’re nothing without you, and indeed anyone who comes to watch. You make us what we are, and I am so thrilled that you saw something worth supporting and engaging with in us. I don’t know when we’ll be back, but keep an eye on all our socials where we will no doubt be posting relentlessly once we are. Take care everyone, and see you soon <3.
