Comedy SLices #45

Art & Culture

This week Comedy Slice is stepping out of the country (well, England at least) as we take a trip to the land of sheep, laver bread and GreenMan Festival – Wales. Clutching tentatively at our English accent and tenderly putting aside our England Rugby shirt, Comedy Slice ventures across the border to bring you this weeks selection truly dedicated to the cause.

Maeve Higgins

First up is Maeve Higgins, this multi-talented Irish comic has done the rounds all the top comedy festivals (Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Melbourne International Festival, Adelaide Fringe Festival, New Zealand International Festival) has had a regular column in the Irish Times, a cult TV comedy series and is about to have a book of a essays published. With a blend of pithy remarks, delicate wit and straight-talking honesty it is easy to see why Higgins’s comedy blend is hugely popular across the globe.

Angela Barnes

Angela Barnes is a relatively new act on the comedy circuit yet is already scooping up comedy award nominations and awards (she nabbed the sort after BBC New Comedy Award in 2011). With an ease on stage and punchy one-liners Barnes has won praise from other comedian such as Sarah Millican – a recommendation (if you’re like me) that may put you off but I say give Barnes a chance and go check her out, you can go see Josh Widdicombe or Patti Smith another time.

Tom Allen

If you need to any tips on how to survive a festival Tom Allen is your man. After exploding on to the comedy scene in 2005 when he won So You Think Youre Funny in Edinburgh and the BBC New Comedy Award, Allen has performed his own show at the Edinburgh Festival for the past six years and around the world. Last year, his show took on a chat show format with stand up and parlour games alongside interviews with the likes of Matt Smith, Ed Byrne and Jack Whitehall. Dont base your decision on the big name dropping or Allens festival wisdom, if you like a comedian who can tell a good story and create riotous entertainment then go see Jarred Christmas, Im joking, see Tom.

Holly Hyde-Smith