LOL Productions’ Christmas Stand-Up Comedy show (in its 17th edition) brings together three wildly divergent comedians, each of whom is extraordinary in his own very particular way.
Tim Fitzhigham is a performance artist who blurs the border between life and art, daredevil, comedian and singer
Stephen Grant’s incisive and lively brand of comedy bears testimony to his long experience as compere (in particular, at the Krater Comedy Club at Komedia, Brighton), experience which puts him in good stead with any audience.
A compere occupies that crucially pivotal position between act and audience, able to straddle both roles – there is no one better at working a room.
A compere must be able to think on his feet, and fast – gauging the mood in the room in an instant and reacting to the moment. Grant seemingly effortlessly brings this skill to bear in his own comedy, with his ability to engage any audience. His material is generally unapologetic and sharply witty, his delivery like an irresistible force of tightly-bundled and relentless energy.
Tim Fitzhigham couldn’t be more different. Daredevil stunts and incredible adventures… this is the stuff of heroes and fools.
Quirky and utterly zany, his reputation as an ‘eccentric comedian’ is well-earned. He has crossed the English Channel in a bath, morris danced the 190 miles from London’s Globe Theatre to the Bishop’s Palace in Norwich, and run up Mount Vesuvius in record time. He has explored period-costume comedy (surely a brave feat in itself), and resurrected Cervantes’ Don Quixote for further adventures.
His touring Flanders and Swann tribute show has proven endlessly popular, and showcases his singular talent – as tightly-controlled in voice and movement as an old variety or music hall artist, he inserts a lightness of touch that sparks infectious waves of exuberance.
Performance artist blurring the border between life and art, daredevil, comedian, singer… simultaneously nominee for the Chortle Award for Innovation in Comedy, and traditional gentleman with an air of the old variety theatre about him… it’s impossible to pin Fitzhigham down. One thing is certain… he is infinitely watchable and there is no one quite like him.
I first watched Tony Law live when he was Stewart Lee’s supporting act, on the If You Prefer A Milder Comedian, Please Ask For One tour (2009). His tendency to veer off-kilter is more disarming than Fitzhigham’s gentler, charmingly oddball act.
Law’s comedy is often wonderfully idiosyncratically bizarre and always surprising. Highly critically acclaimed, he has often been associated with the likes of Richard Herring, Stewart Lee and Simon Munnery for his challenging and meta-comic approach. Closest to Munnery perhaps, in his flights of fancy, once watched Law is never forgotten.
The show is only on for a single night.
Visit www.laughoutloud.com.mt/bookings/, King and Ecco Shoe Shops (San Ġwann/Valletta/Baystreet), or Cleland and Souchet (Portomaso) to get your tickets now for December 12.
Transport between Spinola and the venue (the Oracle Conference Centre, Dolmen Resort Hotel, Qawra) is also available at €4 for a return; book your space on info@laughoutloud.com.mt. Phone hotline: 9946 5816.