Amazing – I’m in the Gay Times. So excited. It’s part of their gays with talent feature I’m opposite a very flexible boy with his foot in his ear obviously I did this pose but they decided, in their wisdom, to go with ‘Drag Queen Lip’!

Very happy and I must say my skin is radiant – the 1hr fast before the shoot did the trick.

They printed a little interview which is an edit of a longer one I’ll post here.

I’m really pleased with how it turned out and cant thank Matthew Miles enough for making me look quite nice.

Here’s the full chat…

How has your talent for comedy developed… when did you start, how hard have you worked at it and what help have you had?

I’ve always been a slight attention seeker and I soon discovered that making people laugh was a great way to steal focus! When I moved from Solihull to Leicester for University and after being in Leicester for a year I broke up with my then partner and I found that I was without many people to talk to so (after about a week of mopeing and marshmallows) I got involved with a local comedy Improvisation group and through that became part of the Leicester Comedy Festival. Then, through the awesome fesival people I joined a Stand Up Comedy course in 2007 and caught the bug! Now I’ve gigged all over the country in clubs, at music festivals, in the dark, for children and even in an Old Peoples’ home.

Has anyone in particular inspired you, or been an example for you to look up to?

There are so many amazing comedians that I look up to and a list would be boring, but, in terms of being a gay man in comedy Graham Norton is an inspiration, people forget how amazing and controversial ‘SO Graham Norton’ was now that he’s hunting for west end divas!

What is it that keeps you coming back to stand-up, to do more and progress?

When you get a laugh it’s amazing, making a whole room giggle makes me feel increadible and the more gigs I do the better I get and the better I get the more people I get to perform in front of it’s sort of an addiction, not a bad one though, I hope!

What’s been your best or most satisfying moment with stand-up so far?

Last year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, I was in The Lunchtime Club with four other amazing young stand ups and got to spend a month geeking about comedy, seeing my idols and making people laugh (with varying degrees of sucess) every day for a month.

Where do you hope to be displaying your talents in the next few years?

Anywhere I can, all across the world if they’ll have me! (actual sad dream is to commentate Eurovision!)

It’s summer, the guys are in short shorts and passions are running high – what does it take for a man to have ‘talent’ in your eye?

Passion for the thing they enjoy. I love boys who are excited about what they do and who can get giddy about it the same way I do about comedy… they also have to laugh at all of my jokes,

Phew!

I’m also thankful that they didn’t pan down – I am wearing the shortest shorts ever.

Dx

Woo, would you look at that. I’m going to be doing a daily chat show during the Leicester Comedy Festival.

I’ll be interviewing the amazing acts, the punters, the awards panel and as he’s never far from a camera the Festival Director himself Geoff!

I’m really really excited about this and the first show will be after the Preview show in January at DeMonfort Hall!

Did I mention I was excited?

So, a month late … But, here are the nice things people said about ‘The Lunchtime Club’ and the bits about me in bold!

THREE WEEKS
The Lunchtime Club
Good Sense of Humour/ Five Pound Fringe

Introducing themselves as a bunch of “nice middle class boys”, ‘The Lunchtime Club’ are all about articulate, self-deprecating comedy. David Morgan makes a cute, flamboyant compere, and warms up the crowd by prancing around the stage. The highlight of the show is Alfie Brown’s fantastic and diverse performance, and his exploitation of grotesque language when lamenting the death of romance is brilliantly executed. The intelligence and maturity of Ivo Graham’s routine is remarkable, and Benjamin Partridge’s geeky mannerisms and quirky humour are popular with the crowd. Finally, Joe Lycett’s routine is subtle, witty, and scathing towards various forms of stupidity. Great value for money, these guys are going to be big.

tw rating: 4/5

published: Aug-2009

HAIRLINE

Part of the Fringe For A Fiver, this offering from GSOH showcases young new talent. Its poster pays homage to the 80s bratpack film The Breakfast Club, and oddly enough, this works. Seeing the Lunchtime Club is like having an invitation to join a secret gang of misfits and geeks, albeit in a very middle-class sixth-form college.

The gang’s ringleader/compere, David Morgan, raises the energy levels through the roof in no time. This disarmingly charming “type 4B Homosexual (Musical Theatre, yes. Sport, no)” connects effortlessly with the crowd and soon has them eating out of his hand.

The boy everyone wants to play with is next, Alfie Brown. In real life he has gone from Chunk to Hunk and even more, the boy is funny and very clever. The rebelious kid who doesn’t play by anyone’s rules but his own, the opening to his stint using his 2nd hand copy of “The Comedy Writing Workbook” is captivating.

Ivo Graham takes to the stage next, some great continuity, heckling back to the other kids in the corner.His stories may ramble but are told in such a sweetly befuddled and subtly sinister manner that once he learns his craft he’s going to go from being someone’s annoying little brother to a star in his own right. Though he loses the audience halfway through, he recovers quickly and wins the hearts of the masses.

The most understated diva to grace any comedy stage, Joe Lycett, completes the line-up. He’s the clever girl (complete with cardigan), overlooked by most but whose light shines through by the end. Sharp, hilarious and with huge potential it’s little wonder he is in the final for Chortle’s Comedy Student Award 2009.

In all, who wouldn’t want to pay just £5 to see 5 comedians? OK, 4 and a bit. Still, good value for a ticket purchase you won’t regret.

4/5

ALLTHEFESTIVALS

The Lunchtime Club a comedy showcase in the middle of the day, performed by young, middle class comedians with bright futures.

The four comedians of the set are compered fantastically by David Morgan who dances around the stage as he speaks to the crowd. His stints in between acts warm the crowd up well and he is almost the stand out performer of the show.

Three of the other comedians share very similar styles which makes the fourth, Alfie Brown, stick out. Although clearly an intelligent comic – a trait evident throughout the whole show – it does take a while for the crowd to appreciate that he’s going about things a bit differently.

Overall, Ivo Graham was the best of the lot. Speaking with authority on youth culture, finding humour in his family stories and giving the other performers a bit of stick, Graham’s well-rounded performance indicates that if any are to live up to the billing of “see them before they’re huge” then it’s his name that we should be on the lookout for.

While half of their poster’s claim that “they can’t grow a beard but they will make you laugh” is blatantly false (two of them clearly have facial hair), the other half rings very true. As part of the Five Pound Fringe you’re effectively paying £1 per comedian – there’s not going to be many other shows that are that economical.

EDFRINGE.COM (real people leaving reviews!)

reviewer: CelticJim, Scotland

All 5 acts made me laugh at some point but Joe Lycett stood out from the rest. David Morgan was an excellent compere and had some excellent one liners to direct at members of the audience. The other 3 were good in patches but still seem to be learning their craft, I’m sure we’ll hear more of all the acts.

reviewer: Matt, Scotland

Great show , loved the compare but might give Leeds a miss , seemingly its full of slutty men. All very good up and coming acts , the future of comedy seems to be in safe hands . a good value show and a great way to start our day at the Fringe

reviewer: Andrew, Southampton, England

Worth seeing as part of the fringe for a fiver deal. David Morgan (compere) was energetic, very natural and we suspect is likely to be a confident theatre performer as well! Ivo Graham … I wished I’d had his confidence to stand up at the Fringe at 18. Ben Partridge and Alfie Brown’s sense of humour were not really in tune with mine unfortunately. Joe Lycett … seemed as confident and natural as David but for me was the funniest of the five. Joe and David are names to remember

reviewer: Maz, Scotland

Defintely go and see this show. The highlights were: The compare – his energy and ad libs really engaged the audience, which at that time of day was a great achievement and very funny. The youngest guy – his stories and observations were original and hilarious, you could tell he was a natural comedian. The oldest guy – last to come on but what a way to end the show, he should have had a show to himself. He had an endless set of stories that you could tell he enjoyed telling as much as we enjoyed laughing along with.

reviewer: Scott Robertson, Scotland

This was our first show of the day and of the Fringe. David the compere does a marvellous job keeoing momentum going with his loveable cheeky personality. The 4 other chaps are a mixed bag of amusing and slightly edgy comedians. Don’t know if I connected too well with the longer haired posh bloke as his material was a little too over the line for me, putting me into an uncomfortable place at times when I was trying to enjoy a laugh. He seemd a little out of place at times with the other guys. Young (18) posh lad came across as a little shy not making any eye contact with the audience and appearing to be off somewhere else entirely at times. Make sure you ahve enough to drink to last 1 hour as no break in performances to pop to the bar. Another warm venue so be prepared. All in all a wonderfull and cheap start to the day. Good luck guys.

Well aren’t people lovely!

I had an AMAZING time in August and was so happy to be performing with Joe, Ivo, Ben and Alfie.

The Lovely UFI: Unidentified Flying Improv (which I host and play in) has been nominated for a Leicester Comedy Festival Award for Best Début Show, How exciting!

The winners are announced at The Case Restaurant, Leicester on Monday 23rd March so I’ll let you know how we do!

But GO US!

woo!

Full info is here