Last Laugh at the Octagon - Reviews

This week is your last opportunity to catch Comedians here at the Octagon, running until Friday 8 May, so make sure you squeeze some space in the diary to come along this week!

If you’re still in need of a little persuasion then take a look at some of the stunning reviews received so far...


"Rated 4/5" THE INDEPENDENT read more...

"Comedians is an immensely funny, thought-provoking play which, in David Thacker’s energetic revival, entertains on so many different levels." THE STAGE read more...

"It is a really good play featuring intelligent debate about how we portray our society through comedy and the real meanings and motivations behind that portrayal…" BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE read more…

"There was a period, during the rise of alternative comedy, when Griffiths's drama about a night class for old-school club entertainers looked as if it might have become obsolete. Now that at least three British universities offer modules in standup – not to mention the furore over Jimmy Carr's "edgy" material and "Sachsgate"– it warrants another look." THE GUARDIAN read more...

"...thanks to the outstanding cast and direction at the Octagon, it is Trevor Griffiths who has the last laugh." THE BOLTON NEWS read more…

Comedians - production photos

Well, today is the press night of Comedians and it coincides with my last day in the office and having seen the quality of the production photos I am leaving the blog on a high. They look smashing.

So there will be a few changes going on here over the coming months. A new Octagon blogger, a new face in our department as well the fruition of some other projects that have been going on in the background - more to be revealed at a later date. Exciting times...

Five Reasons to See Comedians...

There is a nice little piece on the What's On Stage website on the reasons to see Comedians according to Richard Moore who stars as Eddie Waters. You can read the piece in full here...

I have also just seen some of Bolton Camera Club's exhibition being put up in the Bar. They went into rehearsals of Comedians and have taken some really nice photos of the cast preparing for the show. You can see some more of their photos here.

Comedians - meet the line up...

As these apprentice comedians prepare to perform their acts in front of a live audience, Eddie Waters [above], aka The Lancashire Lad, is delighted to introduce the stand out line up for Comedians (opening on 15 April) . Which of these comedians are set for stardom and which will fall at the final hurdle?

On the bill are:

Name: Mick Connor
Occupation: Builder
Hometown: Somewhere in Ireland
What they say
"I want to be famous. I want to be rich and famous. What's wrong with that...?"

Name: George McBrain

Occupation: Docker

Hometown: Belfast

What they say

"Tonight you will see...something! I have what it takes. And when you have it...by God you have it!"

Name: Gethin Price

Occupation: Van Driver
Hometown: Clayton
What they say
"I don't like telling what to think. That's all. I don't want telling what to feel"

Name: Ged Murray / Phil Murray
Occupation: Milkman / Insurance Agent
Hometown: Blackley
What they say
Ged "When are you gonna face it; you're not funny. You're a straight. You can't work on your own but I can."
Phil "I'd done clubs..Like the bloody wild west, both of 'em. There was nothing wrong with me. My troubles started when I took you on, believe me."

Name: Sammy Samuels
Occupation: Club Owner
Hometown: Middleton
What they say
"I wouldn't be seen dead working in a club like mine. I want the tops, I want TV, I want the Palladium"

Comedians in training

Rehearsals for Comedians are now in full swing. There are a few members of the company still to arrive but we should have a full compliment next week. I am delighted to hear that we may also be joined by Trevor Griffiths [Comedians writer] which is very exciting. You can see some more images of the rehearsals below.

Comedians - an update

After And Did Those Feet we will welcome Trevor Griffiths’ landmark play Comedians to Bolton.

Set in Manchester in the mid-1970s, the play broke exciting new ground and is considered by many to have signalled a revolution in stand-up. It asks the question: is comedy just about the laughs? A group of ordinary men gather in a school for a night course in stand-up comedy. It’s run by ‘The Lancashire Lad’ Eddie Waters: once known as the hardest-hitting comedian on the circuit. He is determined to promote comedy as an art form and believes that comedians deliver more than just gags. On the night of his apprentices’ big performance, an agent arrives from London to open the door to fame and fortune for the lucky few. But at what price?

The role of Eddie Waters will be played by Burnley born and bred Richard Moore [above], who is celebrating his fiftieth year in the entertainment industry. He is best known for playing the popular Jarvis Skelton in Emmerdale and Curly in the hit drama Band of Gold. He said:

“The North West, and Bolton in particular, is rightly viewed as a spiritual home of comedy. It’s not a coincidence that while Comedians is on at the Octagon, Peter Kay is playing some o the biggest comedy gigs in stand-up history just up the road in Manchester. He’s very much a comedian in the mould of my character, Eddie Waters – a man of the people, in love with the craft of making people laugh.

“But the play is not just a comedy; it looks at what is an acceptable source for jokes. Has the time of the mother-in-law joke or the Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman joke passed? What is it okay to laugh at? In light of the national debate around Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross, this is clearly an issue that will run and run!”

He is joined by Huw Higginson and Mark Letheren who are also appearing in the Octagon’s production of And Did Those Feet, and Kieran Hill and Russell Richardson who recently appeared at the Theatre in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The cast also includes Colin Connor, Howard Crossley, Brendan Foster, Simon Nagra, John Bramwell and Sevan Stephan.

Comedians will play from Thursday 15 April – Saturday 8 May 2010. Tickets are from £9 on 01204 520661, or at http://www.octagonbolton.co.uk/