Work in Progress Comedy Season 2021-2022

Back for its 8th year!

All tickets £5

Free Valiable Triangle Graph Paper from http://incompetech.com/graphpap

ANY THREE SHOWS FOR £12

ALEXANDER BENNETT

NABIL ABDULRASHID

24th Nov

29th Nov / 7th Feb

7:45 pm

7:45 pm

This is a show about, amongst other things, hating yourself.

Britain’s Got Talent finalist Nabil Abdulrashid reworks and updates his 2021 hit tour show, N.A.B.I.L. (Nobody Actually Believed I’d Last).

Alexander Bennett’s comedy has been variously described as dark, silly, filthy and thoughtful. He has an awful lot under his belt, including numerous Edinburgh Fringe runs, several filmed stand-up specials and creating the cult hit comedy game show Hell To Play.

“Passionate and praiseworthy dark observational comedy” The Skinny ★★★★ The Stage

LOU SANDERS

From growing up under military rule in northern Nigeria to falling into legal trouble as a teenager in south London, join Nabil as he recollects the remarkable, chaotic and sometimes tragic (but always hilarious) story of his life so far.

“Refreshingly radical fare, smartly woven into a gag-packed set. A fresh comic voice” The Telegraph

RICH HARDISTY

25th Nov / 16th Dec

30th Nov

7:45 pm

7:45 pm

A new offering! A collab with the spirit world. Maybe this is the real vaccine!

In his intimate debut hour, Rich Hardisty takes us on a journey through the highs and the lows of his unusual life.

Lou Sanders is one of Britain’s fastestrising and most original comedians.

She is the champion of series eight of Taskmaster and other recent television appearances include The Late Late Show with James Corden, Live at the Apollo and QI. “She’s terrific” ★★★★ The Guardian “Thank the comedy Gods” ★★★★ Chortle

Expect anecdotes and observations about mental institutions, missing dads and mania, all from his warm/inquisitive/ childlike perspective.

In the show, Rich tries his best to convey what mental illness really looks and feels like. Raw, open and honest but most importantly… FUNNY!

ALL TICKETS £5

JAYDE ADAMS

ANIA MAGLIANO

1st Dec / 24th Jan / 24th Feb

3rd Dec / 26th Jan / 8th Feb

7:45 pm

7:45 pm

It’s 2021, change is always hard and what better person is there to lead the men, selflessly by the hand into the new world, than TV’s Jayde Adams.

Join Ania Magliano for an hour of fun and new thoughts about some of life’s most important topics: family, identity and the works of acclaimed children’s author Jacqueline Wison.

Jayde is the co-host of the BAFTA nominated series Snackmasters and Netflix smash hit, Crazy Delicious.

She also stars in Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens (Amazon Prime) and Sophie Willan’s BAFTA winning TV series, Alma’s Not Normal.

Ania is one of the UK’s most exciting rising comedians, who has already been seen on Dave’s The Comedy Guide to Life, and has written shows including Frankie Boyle’s New World Order (BBC2) and Yesterday, Today & The Day Before (Comedy Central).

“Side splitting laughs” Broadway Baby

CHRISTOPHER BLISS

JAMIE D’SOUZA

2nd Dec

6th Dec / 15th Feb

7:45 pm

7:45 pm

Christopher Bliss is a village-renowned novelist and son of two. He writes three novels a day and is fairly well known amongst his family and friend.

Join Leicester Comedy Best Festival Appearance nominee Jamie D’Souza as he performs a work in progress of his highly anticipated debut stand-up show about his first school crush. He’s definitely over it.

He’s been blasting novels out his pencil ‘til the cows come home and would love to trot them out to someone other than his bathroom mirror.

Last seen in Dictionary Corner on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, teaching Suzie Dent about the English language.

Expect a mix of short stories, hilarious one-liners and award-nominated musical comedy. Or as one reviewer actually wrote, “his material is nice and mixed… just like his race”. ★★★★ MumbleComedy

ANY THREE SHOWS FOR £12

CATHERINE BOHART

JOZ NORRIS

7th Dec / 1st Feb

9th Dec

7:45 pm

7:45 pm

At the beginning of 2020, Catherine Bohart was busy writing a stand-up show about moving into a new home with her long-term partner and about how life in general was going pretty well.

Award-winning idiot Joz Norris is working on a show so perfect that it will make his audience blink in unison, having successfully synchronised their inner worlds. This is not YET that show, but it is a pretty concerted dry-run at it.

This is not that show.

An hour of new material from the star of BBC2’s The Mash Report. As seen and heard on Mock The Week, Roast Battle, 8 Out of 10 Cats, The Stand Up Sketch Show and The Guilty Feminist Podcast.

“Packed full of laughs” ★★★★ The Herald

JOSEPH MORPURGO

New ideas, new sketches, new thoughts and new stories from a guy who’s just trying to find inner peace and return to the innocence of childhood, all because his baguette didn’t have a sausage in it.

“He really does capture the spirit of creative live comedy” The Guardian

SARAH KEYWORTH

8th Dec

13th Dec / 9th Feb

7:45 pm

7:45 pm

Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Joseph Morpurgo flaunts some ritzy odds and jewel-encrusted sods for something resembling an hour.

An hour of new material from Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Sarah Keyworth.

“That rare thing, a high-concept, unashamedly arty production that also has entire rooms laughing” ★★★★★ Evening Standard

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Winner: Herald Angel Award Winner: Pleasance Best Newcomer Award As seen and heard on Roast Battle, The Stand Up Sketch Show and The Now Show. ★★★★★ The Herald ★★★★ The Times

ALL TICKETS £5

GARRETT MILLERICK

ISOBEL ROGERS

14th Dec / 10th Feb

15th Dec

7:45 pm

7:45 pm

The world’s angriest optimist returns for another bash at sorting out life’s inexplicable complications. A showcase of no holds barred stand-up comedy from one of the most critically lauded performers of his generation. A show for people who like to keep things simple.

Isobel Rogers unmasks our shadier selves, as we all navigate, or fail to navigate, relationships and our own lives in an increasingly jittery and superficial world. (Whilst keeping it all warmhearted and wryly hilarious.)

“Wickedly funny” ★★★★ The Scotsman

Witty and inventive, with a sharp eye for satire and poetic lyrics to match.

“This brave and winning hour certainly pulls no punches” ★★★★ The Times

“Ultra-witty, pin sharp pithy songs” ★★★★★ Edinburgh Festivals Magazine

THE WORKSHOP 12th Jan / 16th Feb / 16th Mar / 13th Apr / 11th May / 8th June / 13th July

7:45 pm Comedy that’s in the workshop! Be the first to see fresh new material from all your favourite comedians, at Berk’s Nest’s new comedy night!

A mixed-bill comedy night with never-before-seen material from TV faces, awardwinning stand-ups, and hot newcomers. You don’t want to miss this monthly night of new comedy!

A Berk-in-Progress show presented by Berk’s Nest.

ANY

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HOW S£ 12

ANY THREE SHOWS FOR £12

FLO & JOAN

PIERRE NOVELLIE

14th Jan

18th Jan / 19th Jan

7:45 pm

7:45 pm

Armed with a piano and percussion section, multi-award winning musical comedy duo (and sisters) Flo & Joan bring you a preview of their brand new show, Sweet Release.

Award-winning comedian Pierre Novellie comes to the Pleasance to try some new stuff out. Come, people of London, and aid him in discovering what is hilarious and what is not so hilarious. Your impact on his comedy will last a thousand years.

As seen on Live at the Apollo, The Royal Variety Performance, The Russell Howard Hour and Jonathan Ross’ Comedy Club. ★★★★ The Telegraph ★★★★ The Guardian ★★★★ The Sunday Times

CERYS BRADLEY

“Phenomenally good jokes” The Guardian “One to watch” Time Out “Well-crafted, hilarious routines” The Sunday Times

NJAMBI MCGRATH

17th Jan

20th Jan

7:45 pm

7:45 pm

Sportsperson is a work in progress show, written and performed by Cerys Bradley.

Njambi draws parallels between the current British political quagmire of 2020’s Windrush scandal, Grenfell, corona and rampant homelessness to that of her grandmother, whose family were deported from their farm by the British in colonial Kenya.

It’s a show about playing sport and fitting in and how Cerys is quite bad at both of those things. It’s also a show about being non-binary, embarrassed about wearing lycra and how spending your childhood in a car whilst your parents watch your brother play football (and rugby and tennis and cricket) definitely doesn’t leave you with a massive chip on your shoulder.

Both Njambi and her grandmother were/are comedians because amongst adversity, there’s always humour.

ALL TICKETS £5

ALEX MACKEITH

LULU POPPLEWELL

21st Jan

27th Jan

7:45 pm

7:45 pm

A work-in-progress from the winner of the 2020 Musical Comedy Awards.

Join Lulu as she explores what it means to be a goblin, a lobster and an escort all at once.

An intimate, acoustic performance from one of the most fearful minds on the planet.

“Able to get laughter from all sorts of angles” Chortle “Pretty hilarious” Time Out “Brilliantly funny” `The Stage

LUKE KEMPNER

Silly, confessional, and occasionally unhinged, this is an hour of stand-up from “such a funny and warm performer” with “quick lines and sharp gags”(Plays To See).

In a nutshell, that kid from Love Actually is old now and she talks a lot about sex work. What’s not to love?

JOSH WELLER

25th Jan

28th Jan

7:45 pm

7:45 pm

Star of Spitting Image, Steph’s Packed Lunch and with over 10 million views online, Luke Kempner is one of the UK’s hottest mimics and stand-up comics.

As seen on this season’s Stand Up Sketch Show (ITV), Josh Weller is a failed musician turned comedian, comic book author and podcast host.

With a hilariously razor sharp roster of contemporary impressions, ranging from Piers Morgan and Bojo to RuPaul, Luke has become a household name and is bringing his highly anticipated brand new show, Macho Macho Man, on the road.

He was born in England, raised in Malaysia and now lives in London.

A high energy brand of cleverly selfdeprecating stand-up.

ANY THREE SHOWS FOR £12

SUSPICIOUSLY CHEAP COMEDY 31st Jan / 21st Mar / 9th May 7:00 pm Suspiciously Cheap Comedy is a new material night hosted by multi-award winning Gein’s Family Giftshop, Goose, and resident MC Kiri Pritchard-McLean.

We think comedians should have great, switched-on audiences to try out new material in front of, and we also believe that everyone should be able to afford a great night of comedy. So, we collected an amazing audience of comedy fans and we made our night as cheap as we could. Some (we) would say Suspiciously Cheap. And now here we are.

We book the best acts in the country, for the best audience in the country, to make the best night in the country.

DARREN HARRIOTT

CRYBABIES

31st Jan / 8th Mar

2nd Feb

7:45 pm

7:45 pm

Double Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Darren Harriott is a team captain on Guessable and a series regular on Don’t Hate the Playaz.

Rubbish never dies. Something strange is lurking in the woods, something that was lost long ago…

Other TV appearances include hosting Live at the Apollo, plus The Last Leg, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Roast Battle, Mock the Week and Hypothetical.

“A consistent burst of strong punchlines” The Scotsman

Join Edinburgh Comedy Award nominees Crybabies on their latest sketch and storytelling adventure about finding home, forbidden love, magic, mystery, town planning, owl summoning and discarded cardboard tubing.

“Highly impressive” ★★★★ The Guardian

ALL TICKETS £5

KIRI PRITCHARD-MCLEAN AND TAROT

MAISIE ADAM

4th Feb

17th Feb / 18th Feb

7:45 pm

7:45 pm

A riotous double-bill featuring previews from Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Tarot.

Best Newcomer nominee Maisie Adam is working up some new material.

Kiri will be yelling about white supremacy, rescue chickens and learning a new language, and Tarot will be mumbling between sketches so you can’t really tell when they’ve started or finished.

As seen on A League of Their Own, Have I Got News For You, Mock The Week and The Last Leg.

What an evening!

“Her jokes were spot on, her stories magnificent and magnificently told” Bruce Dessau “There’s no denying that Maisie Adam is phenomenal” The Scotsman

KWAME ASANTE

LILY PHILLIPS

11th Feb

21st Feb

7:45 pm

7:45 pm

Kwame uses his undeniable charisma and on-stage presence to play against the audience’s expectations, which makes his comedy fresh, intelligent and most importantly, funny.

Star of ITV2’s Stand Up Sketch Show, BBC New Comedy Awards finalist Lily is, post pandemic, STILL banging on about her vagina.

His material touches on a wide variety of topics, drawing humour from his Ghanaian background, his childhood, his relationships and his career, as well as current affairs, with witty and clever observations.

Female comedians are often criticized for only talking about vaginas and periods, which is offensive, but in Lily’s case 100% true. An hour of dry wit and dirty jokes, with some anecdotes about her long suffering boyfriend thrown in for the ladsssss.

ANY THREE SHOWS FOR £12

NEIL DELAMERE

HAL CRUTTENDEN

22nd Feb

28th Feb

7:45 pm

7:30 pm

Neil Delamere has been described as a “master of stand-up” by The Scotsman and a “wryly brilliant live performer” by The Sunday Times.

Hal Cruttenden, one of the top touring stand-up comedians working in the UK and Ireland today, returns to the Pleasance for a night of new material.

Best known for quick-witted appearances on panel shows and his hilarious live stand-up tours, Neil is a regular contributor for BBC Radio 4 on The News Quiz, The Now Show and The Unbelievable Truth, as well as Fighting Talk on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Hal has made several appearances on Live at the Apollo, Have I Got News For You, The Royal Variety Performance and Would I Lie To You as well as The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice and The Apprentice: You’re Fired.

ZOE LYONS

PHILÉO HUFF

23rd Feb

28th Feb

7:45 pm

7:45 pm

Zoe is an immediately recognisable voice from Radio 4, appearing as a regular on The News Quiz, Just a Minute, The Unbelievable Truth and The Now Show, plus her own four-part series, Passport Paddy.

Originally from Atlanta, Philéo’s turbulent personal experiences have enabled countless controversial and hilarious anecdotes.

On television, she’s the host of BBC2’s quiz, Lightning. Other notable appearances include Have I Got News For You, QI and Mock The Week.

TS ICKE ALL T

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With a confronting yet upbeat honesty, he unapologetically grapples with topics like sex and sexuality, politics and society.

ALL TICKETS £5

HELEN BAUER

ANDY FIELD

1st Mar

3rd Mar

7:45 pm

7:45 pm

Helen is basic, well basic-plus because she is self-aware with it.

A collection of fun new ideas from an award-winning comedian, which will gradually morph into a really good show.

2019’s Best Newcomer nominee returns with an hour about self-confidence, self-esteem and self-care. It’s the year of self. Taking care of yourself has never been more in.

Inspirational quotes and facemasks are a big industry and Helen is trying to be the change she wants to see.

As seen on Stand Up For Live Comedy (BBC1), As Yet Untitled (Dave), and The Stand Up Sketch Show (ITV2). Host of BBC Radio 1’s The Andy Field Experience.

“Completely brilliant, classless humour” ★★★★ Voice Mag

“A personality that will fill a stadium” ★★★★★ The Sunday Express

MICHAEL AKADIRI

FINLAY CHRISTIE

2nd Mar

4th Mar

7:45 pm

7:45 pm

Michael Akadiri is a fast-rising, multiaward winning comedian. His natural charm and cheeky, observational style has already seen him make an impact on the UK comedy scene, most recently winning the Komedia New Comedy Award.

Over 160k followers and 7.9 million likes on TikTok.

“Sharp-witted everyman, charismatic and in effortless control” Chortle “Expect to be laughing regularly at him in the future” Evening Standard

As seen in The BBC New Comedy Awards 2021 and the winner of So You Think You’re Funny 2019.

“Charming, bags of energy. Accessible yet different” Evening Standard

AN

ANY THREE SHOWS FOR £12

SAM LAKE SHELF 10th Mar / 11th Mar 7:45 pm Shelf are a musical comedy double act.

Sort of. One of them is tone deaf, so technically they’re a musical single act and guest.

22nd Mar 7:45 pm Award-winning stand-up and nice young man Sam Lake presents an hour of comedy shaped into a heart-warming love story, talking about his life goals, and how he copes with succeeding and (more often) failing at them.

Watch how Shelf overcome the odds to create musical comedy, slamming EDM, and tell the story of one bizarrely lifechanging haircut.

“Cool and relevant” The Skinny

AURIE STYLA 23rd Mar 7:45 pm One of the UK’s most charismatic comedians, Aurie is working on his next show, Green. A transition into being less Styla and more Green (his real last name).

OLIVIA LEE 17th Mar / 18th Mar 7:45 pm Off the back of her hit controversial mindfulness album, Olivia talks you through her own struggles with life, motherhood, and ultimately how she now embraces losing her shit.

This is Olivia’s two-fingered salute to always having to be positive and well behaved.

ANY

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OWS £12

SIKISA 24th Mar 7:45 pm From South London, Barbadian citizen Sikisa presents her twerk-in-progress show. Always the life of the party, Sikisa just wants to make sure that everyone is happy, but how can everyone be happy when the world is not perfect.

NOVEMBER Wed

24th

Alexander Bennett

7:45 pm

Thu

25th

Lou Sanders

7:45 pm

Mon

29th

Nabil Abdulrashid

7:45 pm

Tue

30th

Rich Hardisty

7:45 pm

DECEMBER Wed

1st

Jayde Adams

7:45 pm

Thu

2nd

Christopher Bliss

7:45 pm

Fri

3rd

Ania Magliano

7:45 pm

Mon

6th

Jamie D’Souza

7:45 pm

Tue

7th

Catherine Bohart

7:45 pm

Wed

8th

Joseph Morpurgo

7:45 pm

Thu

9th

Joz Norris

7:45 pm

Mon

13th

Sarah Keyworth

7:45 pm

Tue

14th

Garrett Millerick

7:45 pm

Wed

15th

Isobel Rogers

7:45 pm

Thu

16th

Lou Sanders

7:45 pm

JANUARY Wed

12th

The Workshop

7:45 pm

Fri

14th

Flo & Joan

7:45 pm

Mon

17th

Cerys Bradley

7:45 pm

Tue

18th

Pierre Novellie

7:45 pm

Wed

19th

Pierre Novellie

7:45 pm

Thu

20th

Njambi McGrath

7:45 pm

Fri

21st

Alex MacKeith

7:45 pm

Mon

24th

Jayde Adams

7:45 pm

Tue

25th

Luke Kempner

7:45 pm

Wed

26th

Ania Magliano

7:45 pm

Thu

27th

Lulu Popplewell

7:45 pm

Fri

28th

Josh Weller

7:45 pm

Mon

31st

Suspiciously Cheap Comedy

7:00 pm

Mon

31st

Darren Harriott

7:45 pm

FEBRUARY Tue

1st

Catherine Bohart

7:45 pm

Wed

2nd

Crybabies

7:45 pm

Fri

4th

Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Tarot

7:45 pm

Mon

7th

Nabil Abdulrashid

7:45 pm

Tue

8th

Ania Magliano

7:45 pm

Wed

9th

Sarah Keyworth

7:45 pm

Thu

10th

Garrett Millerick

7:45 pm

Fri

11th

Kwame Asante

7:45 pm

Tue

15th

Jamie D’Souza

7:45 pm

Wed

16th

The Workshop

7:45 pm

Thu

17th

Maisie Adam

7:45 pm

Fri

18th

Maisie Adam

7:45 pm

Mon

21st

Lily Phillips

7:45 pm

Tue

22nd

Neil Delamere

7:45 pm

Wed

23rd

Zoe Lyons

7:45 pm

Thu

24th

Jayde Adams

7:45 pm

Mon

28th

Hal Cruttenden

7:30 pm

Mon

28th

Philéo Huff

7:45 pm

MARCH Tue

1st

Helen Bauer

7:45 pm

Wed

2nd

Michael Akadiri

7:45 pm

Thu

3rd

Andy Field

7:45 pm

Fri

4th

Finlay Christie

7:45 pm

Tue

8th

Darren Harriott

7:45 pm

Thu

10th

Shelf

7:45 pm

Fri

11th

Shelf

7:45 pm

Wed

16th

The Workshop

7:45 pm

Thu

17th

Olivia Lee

7:45 pm

Fri

18th

Olivia Lee

7:45 pm

Mon

21st

Suspiciously Cheap Comedy

7:00 pm

Tue

22nd

Sam Lake

7:45 pm

Wed

23rd

Aurie Styla

7:45 pm

Thu

24th

Sikisa

7:45 pm

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PLEASANCE THEATRE Carpenters Mews, North Road, N7 9EF 020 7609 1800 Pleasance.co.uk @ThePleasance / @PleasanceComedy £1 booking fee per ticket, up to £5 (not applicable when booking in person).

For access information please visit the website, call Box Office or email: access@pleasance.co.uk

3 minutes walk from Caledonian Road