Gonzo's Comedy Night Review - 29th January 2016

Stalwart Gonzo's, I believe we meet again! There's a lovely vibrant feeling of warmth that encompasses you as you enter this back-alley watering-hole. The staff here are always accommodating as the rhythmic beats pulse away the night with a clutter of conversation. Our choice of beverage is a mocha using only Stranger's finest coffee. Warming, smooth and delightful as always. But we are here on business! The Tome of Judgement in hand, let us begin what is Gonzo's Comedy Night!

It feels like far too long since we last sat down amid the crimson-and-candlelight gloom of perky Gonzo's Tea Room, gazing at the stage in collective hope of jokes, japes and jocularity. Fortunately, one of the premier events amid Norwich's growing comedic calendar is back - Friday 29th January 2016 saw local rising star Nelson T Gombakomba Junior joined by a host of familiar and fresh comic talent from every corner of Great Britain. Naturally, Mr White and Mr Mason attended to appraise the acts set to ensue - and after a previously resounding Christmas show, hopes were definitely high...
 

Our host for the evening was the evergreen Alexander Oliver, who took to presiding as Master of Ceremonies following his initial stint as such in December 2015. Mr Oliver was on remarkably strong form on the evening of 29th January, however, easily eclipsing his previous performance. Taking his penchant for quick-witted audience interaction to hitherto unseen heights, Alex confidently laid down his trademark humour, rich in innuendo, exasperated bluster and his long-standing rivalry with the loud Gonzo's Tea Room coffee machine. A resilient showing in the role of host, yet such was his degree of audience interaction that we ended up missing his own material - we hungered for his humour! 4/5 Stars.


Ah Alex, interactive and delightful as always! His temperament warming the room, slowly bringing the audience ever forward in accepting comedy into their hearts. Upon his opening there was a builder gentleman who decided to heckle - and Alex in all his quick-wittedness shut him down before any further comments could be made. With the audience on side Alex, brought forth some of his own material rather than just MC'ing, which was tremendously refreshing! 4/5 Stars.

Mr Cross... as you may remember, last time I had the "pleasurable" experience of enduring your comedic rant on life, which was to be honest disdainful and boring. So to hear your new works at January's event was, in all honesty, superb! I noted from my colleague that last time you had noted of our antics and it was wholeheartedly received! Your sense of dark humour and your analysis on relationships had me chuckling throughout. Your notes on when wedding dresses would be worn a second time was hilarious. The only thing I could add to this is BRING MORE OF THIS TO LIFE! And don't be scared to interact with the audience, your set has come on leaps and bounds! You have earned yourself 3.5/5 Stars!

The initial act of the evening was Ryan Cross, a returning regular without whom, we daresay, it simply wouldn't be Gonzo's Comedy Night. Notable about his set of the evening was the fact that his usual penchant for humour at the bleeding edge of black comedy seemed to have been toned down, instead replaced with much quipping about relationships and their complexities. It was refreshing to see that each of his jokes and the entirety of his material was fresh to our eyes and ears, yet the audience reaction was frequently muted. Mr Cross is improving, however, and his diligence certainly shows. 3/5 Stars.

The lovely lady Ciara. Alas, what's new... well, not the opening, which was the same leprosy joke as last time, and didn't start all too well. However, the note of your father running around shooting pigeons in a balaclava, spiking the interest with the IRA, was brilliant! Material heavy on political stance and the ineptness of the PM was interesting, but what got the laughs were the family anecdotes! 3/5 Stars for this performance - bring more anecdotes forward and don't be afraid to communicate with the audience.

Another returning face to the fray was Ciara Jack, whose material leaned on her experiences in both writing for BBC Radio Norfolk's comedy programming, as well as performing in 'Jack The Ripper - The Musical' in Norwich last autumn. Her set wove politics, feminism and highbrow class humour to well-paced effect. However, there was somewhat more consulting the notebook onstage than in previous performances we've witnessed, although her killer punchline regarding certain yellow fiends infesting popular culture ("If you don't know what a Minion is, it's basically a small yellow half-blind Joe Pasquale in dungarees...") was met with an eruption of laughter so collective and profound that Ciara herself almost seemed startled. 3.5/5 Stars.

Daniel Offen, a Londoner up in Norfolk... oh no! How will he cope? Well, to start with, a loud opening, and a plush bee? This man is seriously odd, and started with the audience on side. His rant on feminism and action figures was delightful... but alas, it took a turn for the worse. The political rants began and thus the audience began to wane. The jokes were not hitting the mark and when being signaled the set time was up, he carried on trying to win the audience back... repeatedly. Forgetting your set halfway through wasn't the greatest of outlooks either. Not really impressed. 2/5 Stars.

Hot on the heels of the previous act's satire and political musings, Daniel Offen roared onto the stage with impactful gusto, rousing the restless crowd from any stupor they may have been lost within. Tracing his influences to 1980s stand-up comics such as Ben Elton, there was also more than a hint of Ade Edmonson in his delivery and approach, with material that danced from politics and Thatcherism (which he confessed to being too young to have felt any direct impact from), through to puns and pokes at the absurdities of modern life. Although nothing truly stood out, Mr Offen demonstrates an aptitude for stand-up that seems eager to cut loose - I'd certainly welcome the chance to see him perform again. 3/5 Stars.

An interesting man is Jack Shanik. His dry sense of one-liners were short and to the point. Heralding from the northeast, his sense of humour was really "Oh dad, why did you say that?!"... and it had its moments where laughter could be heard. But resoundingly it was quite plain. Towards the end the jokes just got worse and the audience was starting to go and buy more drinks, maybe to scrape away the pain that was being bled through on stage. However, there were delightful notes of the north, but Mr Shanik, your one-liners are terrible. Bring a conversation to light with the audience and you will be a welcomed returning act. 2.5/5 Stars.

Oh me, oh my. Mr White likes to write - thus it stands to reason that Mr White likes wordplay, and this made watching Jack Shanik's performance a true delight. From reciting a tract of a Lewis Carroll classic in an impregnable Northern drawl - proclaiming it to be 'Alice In Sunderland' - Jack went on to zap out zingers including describing wearing a big fuzzy wig and spinning on the spot as a means to arouse himself as his 'Afro Dizzy Act'. More ingenious is the fact that Mr Shanik knows what he's doing and almost seems to welcome the occasional audience groan at a punchline - at one point he even turned to me during the performance and remarked, "It's not easy setting comedy back forty years, mate!" 4/5 Stars to this cheeky chap and his irrepressible punslaught!

The Pope is among us... just lacking the robes and hat. His slow building performance really hit a stride once the audience started laughing. His notes on life of "public school breeding villains" and the "struggles of being an adult when you're still a child at heart" had the room in resounding laughter. Short and to the point, Benedict Pope hit the mark every time, rounding off with a remark about "disarming a bomb with a raw lamb shank" - the room was lifted of the previous maniacal curse of the political gripe. 3.5/5 Stars. Please come back again - you, sir, will go far if you can deliver more material!

Benedict Pope is demonstrably clever. That said, he started somewhat flat and unremarkable in his Gonzo's performance, relating life in London to an audience he then lit up with but a single word. "Milk." Indeed, in chronicling his bizarre experiences with milk deliveries in his London home, Mr Pope turned a simple series of transactions into a hilarious rant about his experience with the milk company, which devolved into a fracas in which his argument - "Please stop sending me milk!" - was met with the counterargument of... well, being constantly sent milk. He also singlehandedly mustered the best quote of the entire evening, when he explained that the woman he had called responded, "But you can't cancel, because then THE MILKMAN WOULD BE SAD." 4/5 Stars!

The one the only MONTY BURNS! Mr Burns opened with a huge entrance, he immediately picked up on the previous heckler and killed him before anything was said. His remarks on Jehovah's Witnesses brought the room into near rapture! He related Robocop to Jesus, and his antics when meeting dates for the first time and asking point blank "have you made a sex tape yet? Because this is as good as your gonna look..." Noting his wife's comments "my wife says that I have boundary issues... well she didn't say that but she wrote it in her diary!", he then treated us to his remarks upon airbrushed models and how men will sleep with anything - "what's the point, we will still sleep with you!" - but ultimately finishing with how his wife always plays to win at Monopoly... and when she does win, screams "Eat my p***y motherf****r", which brought the house down. 4.5/5 Stars for an amazing performance. A great headliner to arrive at Gonzo's!

Hilarity hit a high point with the arrival of Monty Burns to the stage, who seethed into being before us like a furious Scottish Tony Stark. Screaming at the audience until they capitulated, he held the room rapt with his dark wit and familial angst. Tabulating the 'filth' he witnesses on children's TV and the innuendoes he finds there, Mr Burns then swept the acrid cloak of his comedy across the bar, citing an attending couple as resembling a girl group songstress shacked up with Shrek, before shouting that the well-coiffed barman was a protagonist from Twilight. Agitated and animated, Monty hit the mark as the night's strongest comedian by far - no small feat amid such talented peers. 4.5/5 Stars!

Find Monty On Facebook here! Monty Burns Comedy
Follow Him on Twitter! @Montysrants 

The Great Nelson once again presented himself to a stunning audience, laughs of the differences between countries and the contrast of old among newer material was a sly move but it worked. Speaking of his "head" teacher in kind, there were notes of an African doctor coming to England, but the NHS cuts hitting them forcing him to leave. His comments on "all white people looking the same" brought a round of laughs and he even noted "there were many Canadians in the bar". But the finisher were his notes on "if women ruled the world there would be no nuclear bombs... just long text messages", which killed the audience. Not the strongest act of Nelson's, but certainly held his own. 3.5/5 Stars.

The one, the only, the almighty Nelson T Gombakomba Junior rounded off a fine night of comedy in the fine city. Nelson's excitement and zeal were electric - he had just got back from a previous night at London's Comedy Store in which he received one of the strongest positive responses of his career. Nonetheless, on home turf, Nelson was applauded as a local hero, yet his comedy of the night was surprisingly off-the-cuff, seeking input among the audience for 'fun facts' to round off his established wit ("There's a new thing called the 'after-sex selfie', but in Norfolk it's just called a 'family portrait'..."). It's always a pleasure to see Nelson perform, and Gonzo's Tea Room remains his comedic thinktank, in which fresh jokes are blended, poured and refined. 3.5/5 Stars!

All in all a solid night of comedic delights - a fine line up, and some great moments. Nights in Gonzo's are truly amazing and shouldn't be missed just because it's not on Prince of Wales Road! Drop in, try the rum or let the staff make you a cocktail of merit, you will not be disappointed.

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White Mason Reviews appreciates the talent and co-operation of Viktoria DeRoy Photography in chronicling the capers of the evening! Viktoria is a local photographer who frequently attends - and dutifully snaps! - each monthly Gonzo's Comedy Night, with an ever-growing portfolio besides.

White Mason Reviews was approached by Monty Burns to add links to his social media in his review segment - we are happy to accommodate other such promotional requests from featured or forthcoming acts. These requests do not detract from White Mason Reviews' unbiased critiques and are strictly conducted on a not-for-profit basis.

Gonzo's Christmas Comedy Night 2015 - Mr White Recaps

With the festive season behind us, let's discuss one of its highlights! Although an event usually held but once a month, December 2015 has seen a festive Christmas Comedy Night grace Norwich's unique and popular Gonzos Tea Room, hot on the heels of the rambunctious antics of the last. Although both myself and Mr Mason had the great pleasure of reviewing the prior occasion, the Christmas Comedy Night of 16th December 2015 clashed with each of our bustling lives -- as this time of year is prone to do.

Nonetheless, your humble scribe afforded himself the opportunity to sojourn to the grand venue and partake of its comedic delights in part upon the very night of December 16th. Therefore, I proffer in this article an overview, if you will, of the events as witnessed, together with insights garnered from some of the featured talent. It'd be remiss of us to conduct a review on the basis of only a part of the event as witnessed -- and without The Teege's input, the very dualistic nature of White Mason Reviews would be missing in action. A snapshot I provide, then, for your salubrious delectation.

Nelson on fine form

Gonzo's Christmas Comedy Night welcomed a sweep of comedians -- both those new to its stage, and those familiar with the venue. Indeed, the charismatic Master of Ceremonies and Gonzos mainstay, Mr Nelson T Gombakomba Jnr, was on-hand to administer his own unique brand of quick wit, wry observational comedy and outrageous remarks about life at large -- and joining him amid familiar faces 'neath the white glare of the spotlight were Alexander Oliver, Adele Cliff and Ryan Cross.

Ah yes... Mr Ryan Cross. He's a stalwart face in Norwich's comedy circuit, making regular appearances at Gonzos. It was during his set that your humble writer arrived on the scene, taking my seat among the patrons as Mr Cross conducted his works. It pleases me to tabulate that Ryan was on excellent form that night -- though his material as to my ear was often familiar, it resounded to yowls of laughter and appreciation to newcomers. Moreover, his newer material -- ever courting controversy, touring such topics as Syria and Fallout 4, as well as the myriad mysteries of human sexuality -- was both dryly delivered and proficiently paced.

However, Ryan's performance of the night really stood out through his hitherto-unknown-to-me talent for improvisational comedy, as a discussion with a couple in the audience regarding the differences between homosexual and heterosexual pairings finally culminated in his railroading the comical discussion back to his material with the exacting and deliberate wording, "When a couple, one of whom is male and the other is female, has sex -- which they are free to do, or not do, with whoever they choose to..."

Applause! And when he began citing White Mason Reviews' appraisal of his previous December performance to round up his act? Why, one was delighted, terrified and flattered in equal measure -- particularly in how he converted an unfavourable review into an observational dig at the pervasive freedom we all have to, essentially, be more or less unaccountable for our actions, thanks to social media. Nonetheless, this was Ryan Cross as strong as ever I've seen him, and it's apparent that his persistence and ambition are paying off. We look forward to what he will bring to future events -- and The Teege, when I related Mr Cross's performance to him after said gig, is similarly impressed. "He's stepped up and it sounds like he's improving. I'm actually excited to see him perform again!"

Other familiar acts of the evening were met with similarly appreciative responses from the crowd. Alexander Oliver, rising star on the British comedy circuit and frequent Gonzo's Comedy Night contributor, gave a much more assured performance on the night, incorporating audience interaction with his consistently hilarious one-liners ("Physically I'm 22, but mentally I feel more like two 11-year-olds stuck together..."). Speaking to your jocular scribe after his performance, Mr Oliver revealed that he had leant less on audience reaction than his previous appearance at Gonzos, and by easing his mindset, it's apparent that he opened up fresh opportunities for off-the-cuff humour that are otherwise challenging to find in such a complex gigging environment as this particular venue's L-shaped room. Indeed, he held the entire audience rapt for the duration of his performance, and we heartily enjoyed his combination of twisted tales, quick quips and addled despondency with modern life.

Adele Cliff in action

Adele Cliff last came to Norwich armed with a notebook, from which she proclaimed wafty prose about lovelorn elbow-bumping and queried audience members about their likes and dislikes -- their responses leading into wordplay and puns. It was a similar story for the gig of 16th December, flecked with some sparky ad-hoc antics. Although a simulacrum of sorts, her on-stage persona would seem, if anything, a concentrated interpretation of her genuine personality. One gets the impression that Ms Cliff would be a lot more content with the world if it featured more people giving her biscuits.

Such is not to diminish her intellect, that is -- upon prefixing my approach for a White Mason Reviews interview with a hearty handshake and a cheerful greeting ("Hello, Tony From The Internet!"), Adele responded to my appraisal of her comedic style as 'weaponised awkwardness' with enthusiastic agreement. "What intrigues me about the feedback that I get is that... some of what I do, it's not a million miles from what a lot of today's male acts are doing," she noted. "But it's nothing like most of the female acts. So I get told that I'm the only woman doing this style of comedy, which puts me in this really unique position." She fizzes with enthusiasm as she relates the nuances of her craft, and it's a sentiment shared with her peers within the room on any Gonzo's Comedy Night -- the talent is here because it wants to be here.

Indeed, Alexander Oliver's post-show discussions hinged on enthusing about the next gig in town. That said, he demonstrates the kind of urgency to improve that defines most of the great comics of our time, to such a degree that one often has to reassure him that he's doing fantastically well. As the room thrummed in the post-show buzz, that's exactly what main man Nelson did, praising Alexander's audience interactivity, before confiding in me his plans for the future. "2016 is gonna be big," he grinned, visibly excited as plans percolated in his rapid mind. "January 29th!"

The coming year looks grand indeed for Gonzo's Comedy Nights, which has now established a troupe of familiar headliners who each bring a different slant to a night's chucklesome endeavours. Yet fresh acts, both local and national, continue to grace the stage in ways that lace intrigue for the year to come -- and White Mason Reviews looks forward to a comical cornucopia in the coming months!