Laughing Bishop's Comedy Club

Paddy is a popular Irish Stand-up and has been tour support for Rhod Gilbert, Lucy Porter and Micky Flanagan.

He hosts The Laughing Bishops Comedy Club in Bishop's Stortford and The Great Dunmow Comedy Club in... er... Great Dunmow. Both are sell-out shows mainly due to all the acts being his friends from The London Comedy Store.

He started Stand-Up in December 2001 only to be interrupted with a couple of comedies at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and a couple of surreal commercials in far off lands, before returning to his new found passion.

A naturally funny, warm comic who plays all the big (and small) clubs in the UK. He has also gigged in South Africa, Germany, Ireland, Croatia, Estonia, Malta, and lil' ol' Slovenia.

'... simply a scream' (The Daily Telegraph)

'... comedy the way it should be: a laugh-a-minute which leaves the audience wishing the show was just a little bit longer... gentle Irish lilt belies a mischievous sense of humour' (Fest).

'Excellent stand-up, Paddy Lennox, is laid-back and charismatic. Vastly entertaining. This show proves that the AAA stand-up comedians have great things ahead of them' (Three Weeks).

One of Britain's freshest and most original comics, this British-born Iranian hams the accent and underlines the cliches before pulling the Persian rug from under the audience. With a career in comedy spanning across three decades, Omid Djalili's legendary performances on stage and screen have won him fans and plaudits the world over.

Renowned for his razor sharp wit, boundless energy and expertly crafted cultural observations, his original material continues to explore the diversity of modern Britain and he remains one of the most exciting entertainers on the circuit.

A firm favourite at the Edinburgh Festival, Omid's stand-up awards include the Time Out Award for Best Stand Up and the EMMA Award. He's also been a nominee for a Perrier Award and the South Bank Award. Omid was also awarded a Best Actor award at the Turin Film Festival for his lead performance in The Infidel.

'To carve yourself out a career as the thinking person's Iranian comedian in this political climate takes a fine brain and a masterful way with the audience. There is no question that Omid Djalili possesses both... Belly laughs with a subtle blend of mainstream gags and subversive twinkle' (The Sunday Times)

Omid Djalili was named in Ents24's top 10 hardest-working comedians 2017.

Charmian Hughes has been shocking, charming and winning audiences across the country with her visual puns and verbal slapstick.

Arthur Smith's Pick of the Fringe, 2014.

'Best gags' (The Independent)

'Humour darker than a bar of Green and Blacks 85%' (Leicester Mercury)

'Charming ribaldry’ (The Guardian)

'Like Josie Long's mum’ (Chortle)

'A good story well told!’ (http://www.One4Review.co.uk)

'Very good’ (Bruce Dessau).

Ben Van der Velde is a stand-up comedian, actor, improviser and presenter, who, over the past few years, has spread joy and nonsense to all four corners of the British Isles, as well as Greece, Switzerland, Estonia, Latvia, Finland and Norway.

He is a regular host and act for respected British comedy clubs such as The Comedy Store, The Stand, Komedia, The Backyard, Covent Garden Comedy Club, Outside the Box, the Frog & Bucket, Comedy Club 4 Kids, Off the Kerb and The Comedy Café, as well as hosting stages for Bestival, Festival No.6 and Sunday Papers Live. He has also founded the Church of the Holy Kazoo with comedy legend Mark Thomas, walked the entire London Underground network to raise money for The Refugee Council and even took part in experiments at The Royal Society that revealed him to have the most infectious laugh of any human, rat or monkey.

Ben is a regular performer at the Edinburgh Festival, where he has performed four critically-acclaimed shows: Chain Letter, Strudelhead, Barbarians and Sidekick. In 2016 his most recent show received 5 and 4 star reviews, whilst several of jokes made it into lists of ‘Best Joke at the Fringe’ compiled by The Scotsman, i-News and The Huffington Post.

Ben has amassed a few residencies as an MC; most notably at Really Lovely Comedy and the legendary Free Beer Show, where he has featured alongside acts such as Omid Djalili, Reginald D. Hunter, Sarah Millican, Jim Jefferies and Andrew Maxwell . Ben is currently helmsman of the Chortle Award-winning Good Ship Comedy Club in Camden Town, where he can be seen spinning webs of nonsense and good humour every Monday from 8pm. (http://www.goodshipcomedy.com)

“A sharp and crafty gagsmith, with wittily obtuse takes on…an impressively wide range of topics…bringing flair and confidence to them all.” Steve Bennett, Chortle

“Highly promising…an accomplished comic.” Time Out

“Wonderfully improvised riffs showcasing his impressive spontaneity and sharp tongue.” Edinburgh Festivals Magazine

“The perfect comedy club host – he is a master of audience interaction. The audience weren’t just warmed up, but pretty hysterical even before the first act of the night hit the stage.” Huffington Post

“On flights of fancy, he pushes ideas to extremes and displays a crackling, spontaneous energy in which we’re swept up.” Fest