Russell Howard at Bristol Zoo

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!

Lee Evans warms up in Bristol

Lee Evans under the spotlight. Picture courtesy of theartsdesk.com.

Comedian, Lee Evans, took to Bristol’s Colston Hall for two nights of comedy to warm-up for his upcoming tour. The Bristol-born funny man had the audience in stitches as he tried out his new material on Friday and Saturday night.

Lee Evans is known for his energetic performances, excessive sweating and comic impressions. The show did not disappoint as the comedian delivered a standing-ovation performance and made it worth every penny with the comedy rolling for over two hours.

Evans was overwhelmed with the audience’s reception and shared his love of how he loves to perform at the Colston Hall and in the city he was born in.

The audience went wild for his impression of the Bristolian accent and his use of the city’s slang!

Lee Evans takes everyday, normally boring topics and makes them hilarious. Each audience member can relate to the jokes and the comedian himself.

Even though, Evans was reading from notes throughout his performance with just him, a microphone and a table, this did not take anything away from the comedic value and it showed that his talent can shine on its own.

The fresh material proved to be a success as the audience cried with laughter. If you’ve got tickets to his Monsters tour later this year then you’re in for a real treat!

Russell Brand in Bristol

Brand’s Messiah Complex Tour Poster

Eccentric comedian, Russell Brand, took to the stage at the Colston Hall in Bristol on Monday evening for two nights of sold out stand-up comedy.

Comedic poet, Mr Gee, supported Russell Brand and warmed up the audience with his jokes and rhymes. He had the crowd laughing with his relatable jokes and had them reflecting on life with his deep and thoughtful poems.

Brand bought his Messiah Complex world tour to the city of Bristol and without a doubt gave the audience an entertaining show focusing on many powerful leaders throughout history, including Jesus, Malcolm X, Gandhi, Che Guevara and Hitler. Brand argued how he was similar to some of these leaders in the most comedic way possible.

As the funny-man took to the stage he spent time interacting with the audience, especially his female fans. He was giving out hugs, accepting presents and making jokes out of the crowd.

Brand took his geographical location into consideration and attempted his very own Bristolian accent, brought the local newspaper onto stage with him and even mentioned some areas of Bristol.

Russell Brand was a ball of energy on stage as he moved around the stage, carried out imaginary sexual actions (even pretending to have sex with a chair!), and constantly moving throughout the show.

The crowd went wild anytime Brand spoke of Jeremy Paxman after their heated interview on Newsnight last week. If you’ve not already seen the interview, you can watch it here.

The audience certainly got their money’s worth as Brand gave around a two hour long performance.

Russell Brand live is all you could imagine and more. If you get the opportunity to see Brand in action, you will be laughing through the entire performance.

Date: 28th-29th October

Venue: Colston Hall

Genre: Comedy

Performers: Russell Brand and Mr Gee.