Stand Up for Saturday Comedy Club

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

Winner of the 2007 Hackney Empire new act of the year and BAFTA winner for Fonejacker. David Whitney's material is a fine blend of political satire and pure filth, making him the thinking person's comic. So long as that person is thinking of something satirically filthy at the time. His posh-accented delivery comes dunked in a tongue-in-cheek laddishness. '... you can't stop him, you can only hope to contain him' (Reg D Hunter) 'His trajectory is perfect. He squeezes the laughter out of audiences. He is the squeeze person' (Eddie Izzard) 'David Whitney, a stand-up comedian with sharp cavalier observations, his CV reads: actor involved in the BAFTA wining comedy Fonejaker and bagpipe player, who has piped at many events including the Royal Tournament and Gwen Stefani’s wedding, a very witty man of many talents' (Funhouse Comedy).

An observational storyteller, Alistair has been performing stand-up since 2015; rising through the ranks at a rate of knots excelling in any situation he is put in. After winning the Piccadilly Comedy Club’s New Comedian of the Year 2014 award and reaching the finals of prestigious competitions (Amused Moose Laugh Off, Leicester Square New Act and Laughing Horse New Act) Alistair is already on his way to the top. 'Alistair Williams describes his comedy style as the ramblings of a moron. He must be doing something right though as he is highly regarded as one of the most exciting new acts on the UK comedy circuit' (Catfae Talent) 'He has a charming and confident stage manner and his material is fresh and very funny. He endeared himself to the audience and left the stage to a loud round of applause' (Grahame Limmer, Bearcat Comedy Club).