For our fourth night we are changing venue to Saltash Social Club - (Saltash Model Railway Club have our usual venue booked for the whole weekend).
So for this night our usual bring your own drinks and snacks rule does not apply as the Social Club have a nice cheap bar!
But we have a real treat of a night for you with two fantastic comedians doing full length work in progress shows, of the shows they will be taking to the Edinburgh Fringe in August.
As always, all profits from the night will go to a good cause. And for this night it will be a cause very close to Carole and my hearts, Best in Class.
BEST IN CLASS IS A CROWD FUNDED PROFIT SHARING SHOW THAT CHAMPIONS THE RICH TALENT OF WORKING CLASS COMEDIANS.
Best in Class was founded by Sian Davies, who was fed up of class, money and social status being used as a barrier to performing. In 2018 she was invited to audition for a spot on an Edinburgh Fringe show, if successful she was told she would have to pay £1800 to the promoter by the end of the week to secure her place. She set up a crowdfunding page to help with her costs. Within an hour the promoter called her back and dropped her from the audition. Apparently she was not the sort of person they wanted to work with.
Sian decided to turn the situation into something positive. Realising that the barriers facing working class performers in the arts are systemic, she set up Best in Class. In 2022 Best In Class were awarded the Panel Prize at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. This has opened dialogue within the industry and will hopefully be a catalyst for real change and more opportunities for talented working class performers. Sian Davies accepted the panel prize award on behalf of Best in Class with a rousing speech about systemic inequalities within the arts.
The first of the shows tonight is
AMY MASON: FREE MASON (WORK IN PROGRESS)
Amy Mason is a comedian, writer and theatre maker who performs comedy across the U.K for promoters including Off the Kerb and Little Wander. A Funny Woman finalist, Amy has multiple TV projects in development with production companies, has written and performed two monologues for Radio 4 and has written for The News Quiz and Hypothetical (Dave). She has made 3 acclaimed autobiographical shows with Bristol Old Vic and has a current development commission with the theatre. In 2014 Amy won the Dundee International Book Prize with her novel The Other Ida. Amy has two daughters and lives in Bristol.
Aged 38, Amy Mason came out as queer and left her husband. She should be embracing her new life, but things keep getting in her way. A work-in-progress stand-up show about starting all over again.
"A born comic. Can't wait to see her progress to national treasure" Bridget Christie. Funny Women - finalist, BBC New Act of the Year shortlist,
***** WhatsonStage ‘Must See Show’ The Stage **** The List **** The Skinny (Praise for storytelling show The Islanders)
Our other comedian for the night is one of our absolute favourites, a Cornish treasure now living in Manchester…
Harriet Dyer: SKIN (WIP)
Give us a cheer if you’ve got skin? WELL THEN, THIS IS THE SHOW FOR YOU!
A new show of story based chaos with heart and peculiarity from Harriet Dyer (Comedy Central, SKY TV, Rosie Jones’s Disability Comedy Extravaganza, The Russell Howard Hour and winner of 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Neurodiversity Representation Award)
“Harriet Dyer is everything I love about the fringe” **** Broadway Baby
"We shouldn't underestimate the importance of Harriet Dyer's show” ***** Neurodiverse Review
"This is a fabulous hour from a delightful comedian with a sense of the joyful absurdity of life. Entirely charming” ***** One4Review **** Chortle
https://www.harrietdyer.com
You can also view her award-winning show Trigger Warning here: https://youtu.be/NKczZtezGys
BOOK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08P3H11ZZ