Skip to main content

BUZZ: GARAGE COMEDY CLUB FEAT. DAN ANTOPOLSKI | LIVE REVIEW



BY SUSIE WILD ⋅ FEBRUARY 10, 2010 ⋅ POST A COMMENT
FILED UNDER  , 
Dan Antopolski
Garage Comedy Club, Swansea.
Tue 9 Feb
****
The comedy night at the Garage, curated by young stand up comic Ben Jenkins (a star opener on the night), has garnered quite a following in the Uplands of Swansea, with students and locals alike. This week’s instalment was no exception. Hosted by Jongleurs Semi Finalist and Garage Comedy’s Fringe Stand Up Comp winner Simon Jones, it saw support acts from So You Think You’re FunnyEdinburgh Performer and Laughing Horse Performer Philip Cooper, Garage Comedy Competition Semi Finalist Ian Jenkins and Garage Comedy Night New Boy Dan Thomas. Of these three, it was the last to appear who shone brightest. Dan Thomas who I had recently seen at Manic Monday in Cardiff entertained again, with jokes hinged on nostalgia for childhood – George and Zippy from Rainbow, and Pac Man. The crowd approves.
The main act Dan Antopolski had a lot to live up to. His Comedy CV goes like this:
  • Winner of the BBC New Comedy Award
  • Winner of the Dave award for best joke @ 2009 Edinburgh Fringe
  • 3 times Perrier Award Nominee
  • Finalist in So You Think You’re Funny & The Daily Telegraph Open Mic Award
  • Harry Hill’s TV Burp (ITV)
  • Live Floor Show (BBC)
  • The World Comedy Tour (Comedy Central)
  • Edinburgh and Beyond (Paramount Comedy)
There is a reason people keep nominating this stand up for more than just getting the next round in at the bar. On stage Antopolski is dark, deadpan and dead daft. The weirdy beardy comic oozes a likeable edginess and confident charisma that allow him to take risks that pay off and risks that don’t and still keep the audience hanging, if occasionally confused by his bizarre twisting trains of thought. Meanders that throw out articulate asides and intelligently subversive rambles; educated and philosophically informed. Plus there are sharp witticisms, imaginative verbal pyrotechnics and quick fire gags. Often he is silly and surreal. He brings out a chart of which body parts people are most likely to laugh off, quipping: “Hitler was quite jolly until he laughed a bollock off… Women are much less likely to laugh off their genitalia, it being internal.” He’s right; instead – giggling at his set – I lose both tits. The person to my right loses their nose and left eye. Next time Antopolski plays, the venue may want to book a medic. Or hand out donor cards.
The comedy lovechild of Harry Hill and Bill Bailey (I dare you not to imagine them creating him) this man is not afraid to rap about things. Things like sandwiches. Things that make us laugh. A twisted original, I left ‘off-my-tits’ (see earlier) but smiling. Uplifted, cerebrally exercised and thoroughly entertained. More like this please.
Garage Comedy Club @ The Garage, Whitez, Uplands Crescent, Swansea happens every Tuesday night. Join the Facebook group herefor money off the door. Admission: £2 members, £3 Gen. Public, (unless specified).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

POETRY COMPETITION: The Borzello Trust Poetry Prize

Just a reminder that the Borzello Trust Prize for Poetry is open for entries until 31 January 2025. Niall and I look forward to reading your words... This year we are thrilled to open a second category of the New Welsh Writing Awards with many thanks to the generous support from The Borzello Trust. Supporting in the development of yet unpublished poets living, working or from Wales, the winner of The Borzello Trust Prize for Poetry will receive a £500 development publishing contract with Parthian Books/The Borzello Trust. Including mentorship from Susie Wild to develop a poetry collection that (following publication) will be distributed via The Borzello Trust to over 250 Welsh libraries and schools. There will be a £150 cash prize to the five highly commended entries and publication in a special anthology collection published by Parthian Books. Winner: £500 as an advance on a book development contract with Parthian Books, for publication on their poetry list, plus mentorship/developm...
Post a Comment
Read more

Storyville Books Presents: A Pride Book Fair!

  This Saturday in Ponty! I'll be looking after the Parthian table... 10-3, come say hi Joshua Jones & Christina Thatcher are reading at 1pm ... Introducing Storyville Books' first Pride Book Fair ! We'll be welcoming LGBTQ+ writers, artists, and poets to celebrate LGBTQ+ inclusive literature and talent. Including talks and craft vendors there will be a lot to discover. All are welcome and entry is absolutely free!
Post a Comment
Read more

New Welsh Writing Awards: The Winners!

Huge congratulations to Natasha Gauthier, Winner of the Borzello Trust Poetry Prize – winning a £500 development publishing contract with us – announced at our New Welsh Writing Awards ceremony in Abergavenny last night. It was a great pleasure to judge this award with Niall Griffiths. And congratulations to all the shortlisted poets whose work you can read in our next issue (138). Also, many congratulations to Sam Christie who won the The Rheidol Prize in the New Welsh Writing Awards with his story ‘The Widowmaker’ (judged by former NWR editor Gwen Davies and author David Lloyd Owen). Winning a £1000 development publishing contract with us. The two runners-ups prizes went to Natalie Ann Holborow with her story ‘The Man Who Knew Things’ and Sybilla Harvey with her story ‘The Flattening’. Both winning a creative residency with Gladstone's Library and Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre. You can read all three stories in our next issue of New Welsh Review .
Post a Comment
Read more