The great thing about The Comedy Store is there are three acts, all of whom have their individual style of comedy. So if you're like me and my husband and have differing tastes in comedians- there is bound to be one that you click with from the three.
The Comedy Store
I am thankful that the seats are first come first serve, so if you're feeling brave- you can sit near the front and wait to be picked on or you can hide in the back and enjoy watching the embarrassment instead. (We sat at the back!)
As with the last one I attended, there was a hen party sitting on the front row, (which seems to be a popular choice for brides to be and their hens in Warrington) so they were the easy target for all of the acts, including the MC.
The MC was Rich Wilson who took particular advantage of the audience members right in front of him, including two couples in the front row- all of whom willingly joined in with the banter.
He told us stories of divorce, renting a room from his son and the trials and tribulations of middle age. He even manged to make several jokes out of the tea he spilled while watching on of the acts backstage. Wilson was confident and quick off the mark when the audience revealed things about themselves- a true natural.
First on was Alex Boardman who has lived not far from Warrington (in Manchester) so he was able to include his local knowledge within his performance, which made him an instant hit with the audience. His tales of wedding woes were very relatable for all of the married couples in the audience and his zookeeper experience at Knowsley Safari Park was both educational and disgusting.
The second act was the lovely Zoe Lyons, my personal favourite, who entertained us with stories of being a wine 'connoisseur', vegetarian food shapes, refusing to share tapas and near death experiences in the bathroom. She has the gift of turning everyday topics and observations into hilarious stories that everyone can relate to. Her positivity filtered out into the audience; she was just an absolute joy to watch.
The set finished with Andy Askins- a man who looks like most of the audience members- quiet and unassuming- dressed in a checked shirt and jeans- he lured us all into a false sense of security. He began by telling us all that he has 'no charisma' which sparked the audience's attention as did his guitar which he claimed was to give him more confidence on stage. His appearance meant we were not prepared for the filth and acerbic one-liners that came from his mouth. And this shock factor worked so well, he had the audience rolling around in the aisles. All be it- many of them were drunk at this point but as a sober audience member- I can tell you that I was left open mouthed and not a lot shocks me anymore. My partner particularly enjoyed Askins' performance as he delivered each line with a straight face, so you really didn't know what was coming next- songs about condoms, a hit and run and bad relationships were all pretty memorable for all the wrong reasons!
Overall, The Comedy Store is the ideal night out for couples. At £14 a ticket, it's a reasonable price to pay for a date night and if you're feeling flush you can always go for a meal beforehand in the cultural quarter and follow it with some drinks in town. It has the flexibility to be part of a good few hours in each other's company. And we all need a good laugh at the weekend so this ticks all the boxes.
Tagged in Manchester warrington