St Albans on the road to Edinburgh for comedians

TWO complete one-hour stand-up shows destined for this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe will be previewing at Funny First Mondays at Waterend Barn in St Albans next week.

Mike Belgrave and Mike Manera will present their Music Club, a show that has grown from the two Mikes’ monthly comedy nights at their Chalk Farm venue.

Already marked out as “one to watch” at the festival, the show is all about music with the two Mikes presenting some of their favourite – and least favourite – music, with their own comic slant.

It has been compared to “hanging out with some seriously strange mates when you were 16” and it promises to be all very silly.

Josh Howie’s pre-Edinburgh show is called Gran Slam and is apparently inspired by the fact that his mum kicked him out aged 28 – to live at his grandma’s.

In Josh’s hands, the family history requires concentration before erupting into giggles and The Scotsman has described the show as, “as fascinating as it is funny.”

Josh has been described as a young Woody Allen and his background as an ex-public schoolboy who was raised as a Buddhist, then trained as a Rabbi before being kicked off the programme for being caught with a naked (non-Jewish) girl have paved the way for a solid career as a stand-up comedian.

Funny First Mondays is at the Waterend Barn in St Peter’s Street, St Albans, on the first Monday of each month. The comedy begins at 8pm and entry is �5, available from www.funnyfirstmondays.co.uk or on the door.