LE PUBE COMEDY NIGHT
The months before August usually see a host of Edinburgh Festival previews across the country, as comedians get revved up for their Ed Fringe runs. One particularly exciting set of previews will also coincide with the launch of a new comedy night at Newport’s Le Public Space, set up with the aim of promoting alternative comedy. And for those confused by such a term, alternative comedy is basically anything that’s trying to do something different with the form.
Le Pube is the brainchild of Henry Widdicombe, progenitor of Machynlleth Comedy Festival, and standup comedians Stuart Laws and Jordan Brookes. Why Newport, we asked Brookes? “The short answer is that Henry and I used to run a club called Comedy Storage, a really alternative night in Cardiff that very few people came to but was always the most fun we’d have in comedy that month, and we both missed doing it.”
Brookes himself was once a core part of the Cardiff comedy scene, winning one of the first editions of the Wales Unsigned Standup Awards, and will this year be taking his fourth consecutive show to Edinburgh. Each show has been nominated for awards and his upcoming one, Bleed will hopefully prove no different, though he claims that writing it has been a challenge. He asked himself: “how do I juggle writing a show with running a new comedy club at Le Pub in Newport?” Though, it should be added, most of his answers in our chat revolved around dropping the words ‘comedy’, ‘club’, ‘Le Pub’ and ‘Newport’, so one would assume he’s fairly excited.
“Le Pub is absolutely perfect for what we want to do. It just feels like the right fit in the right community, especially with Le Pub being a community owned venue with a remit for progressing the grassroots arts community. It just feels like the right location for an alternative comedy night.”
The plan, he says, is for Stuart Laws to host and for Brookes to attempt new bits each month, with the address book raided for the most interesting and unique comedy acts across the UK each time. Exciting times in Newport. “If we can get enough people along each month we genuinely believe it has the potential to be one of the best alternative nights in the country.” FEDOR TOT
Lloyd Langford and Jordan Brookes Edinburgh Previews, Le Pube @ Le Public Space, Newport, Fri 20 July. Tickets: £7. Info: www.lepub.co.uk
