Russell Howard in the limelight. Photo courtesy of digitalspy.co.uk
Stand-up comedian, Russell Howard, took to the stage at Bristol Zoo Gardens on Saturday Night. He put on a hilarious performance and the show was worth every penny.
The zoo is not a conventional venue for stand-up comedy but it certainly was a good one with ticket holders having the opportunity to visit the animals beforehand. The unique night was named ‘Giggle for Gorillas’ in aid of raising money for Gorilla conservation.
Russell Howard is a stand-up comedian from Bristol who is well known for his TV show ‘Russell Howard’s Good News‘ and his many appearances on ‘Mock the Week‘.
The night was held together by Mark Olver who had the audience laughing throughout as he filled the gaps between the stand-up acts. Olver is well-known as a television warm-up act and has worked on many shows including Bristol’s very own Deal or No Deal, 8 out of 10 Cats, Vicar of Dibley and Jonathan Ross. He bounced off the audience’s energy and had every person hysterically laughing.
Howard was joined by a variety of comedic guests including Steve Williams, comedian and fellow writer of ‘Russell Howard’s Good News’. The welsh funny-man made jokes the audience could relate to about everyday life and his home town of Newport.
Steve Hall also joined the line-up with a focus on his childhood and a slideshow to accompany him. Hall was hilarious and had the audience giggling away.
George Rigden also took to the stage with his guitar and jokes. He began with a comedic song, told some jokes in the middle and even attempted to woo a lady in the audience by singing her a funny love song.
When it was Russell Howard’s time to headline, the audience went wild and he did not disappoint by having the audience laughing until they cried. A large focus of the comedy was on his family including pulling pranks on his Mum, his younger brother running round Naked as a child and going on holiday with his mum.
Russell is clearly a down to earth man who has a love for his home town of Bristol and his family. He was hilarious and lived up to his witty appearance on TV.
Howard returned to the stage for an encore which resulted in unrehearsed jokes with the audience. Mark Olver jumped into the crowd with a microphone so the banter could be heard by all. It was a great way to finish the show and really involved the audience.
Russell Howard is about to embark on four sold-out nights at the Bristol Hippodrome and Bristol Zoo Gardens was the perfect place to warm-up for his Bristol shows. If you’re lucky enough to have a ticket, you are in for a funny treat!
Intuitive Mind 