Save Ginglik

Save Ginglik

06 November, 2008
by: Emma

Poor old Ginglik!  Who'd have thought with all this re-development and money pouring into Shepherd's Bush at the moment that it would lead to the council threatening one of the borough's best venues with closure? Yes, Westfield is now open and yes, it's amazing.  Every high-street shop you might possibly want to visit, restaurants, bars and cafes galore (49 to be exact), a dazzling white interior and most important of all for me, it's a ten minute walk from my house.

Ginglik is the antithesis of Westfield. An underground bunker (once a Victorian public toilet) consisting of a bar, a club space and a chill-out room; it is small, unique and anything but mainstream.  It has live music every night from indie bands on Wednesdays to DJs on Saturdays (Ashley Beedle and Craig Richards made an appearance recently), plus film nights on Mondays and comedy on Tuesdays and Sundays.  Situated in the middle of the Common, it has a relaxed member's policy which gives it a local feel and as I slide onto my table to see some comedy (you can reserve them ahead) I definitely get the impression the rest of the room are regular visitors.

East End compere Micky Flanagan is a seasoned pro.  Not only does he have some great jokes but he knows how to squash a heckler.  When he asks a sozzled jester in the front row what he does for a living he gets the reply: "I'm a member of the Luftwaffe and I also train dolphins."  Flanagan, unaware of the 'Indulge any drunk neo-Nazis' door policy at Ginglik, tells us this heckler must be squashed before he turns into a monster or a minor celebrity.  Failing that: "We'll get him to call Jonathan Ross in a second and tell him he's shagged his nan." 

First on stage is Welsh comic Steve Williams who toured the UK with Lee Mack in 2006.  Bizarrely for a successful comedian who's been on the circuit for years, he starts poorly and seems incredibly nervous - not once shifting his gaze from one side of the room and stammering over jokes.  However, it just goes to show what a bit of audience support can do because after a few laughs, Williams has totally loosened up, is talking to the whole room and even bantering with the heckler in the corner.  When commenting on a recent study claiming that fish have regional accents, he has a brilliant surreal notion of an asthmatic dolphin getting diagnosed with a Welsh accent and being forced to say words like 'parallelogram' and 'ratatouille' to determine his place of origin.  In the end, a great opening act.

Next up is Robert White, a camp musical genius with Asperger's Syndrome. Well, perhaps not quite a musical genius but he can play the theme tune from Postman Pat while singing about a fat lady in the audience. I've seen White before and his act had exactly the same impact on me then as it does now. The gay jokes which invariably involve a lot of innuendoes about cocks and bums only induce polite chuckles and groans. Where his talent really comes into play though is when he takes song requests and ad-libs lyrics over the top using the audience for material. Last time I saw him, old pensioners took the hit, this time it was a mouthy overweight woman at the front. He certainly doesn't worry about offending anyone and as long as it's not you he turns on, it's bloody hilarious.
 
Penultimate comic Mike Wozniak, one of this year's if.comedy 'Best Newcomer' nominees, sounds so much like Richard Herring I barely take in the first few jokes.  It's not just the voice but the tone, pitch, pause for effect, everything.  It's a little spooky and I'm not sure how good it is to sound exactly like somebody else who's already big news. However, the man clearly has talent and it's easy to see why he was nominated for the if.comedy - his comic timing and suspense-building keep everyone in stitches; it's just that the subject matter (including his Dad on the loo or getting Museli stuck in hard-to-imagine places) isn't exactly ground-breaking.  It speaks volumes of his delivery that he can get so many laughs out of such average material, no doubt if he improves on it, he will surely become big news himself soon.

Surprise final guest is Omid Djalili, a huge comedian who's appeared all over the world on tour, all over the telly and starred in blockbusters like The Mummy and Gladiator.  His act revolves round taking the piss out of various cultures round the world, from Indians, to Geordies, to his own race, the Iranians.  This has caused him to come under fire from some who consider his material racist, but with Djalili it works because everyone is a contender for a send-up including himself.  His jokes also tend to steer clear of religion and instead focus on cultural differences and accents, like the one involving him trying to blindside a Nigerian parking warden by copying his voice: 'What 'av a dun?!'. Yes he's using a Nigerian for the basis of a joke but there is nothing remotely offensive or prejudiced about it. Take note Jim Davidson!

So a thoroughly enjoyable evening but I'd like to come back and recently things have looked bleak for Ginglik.  In line with the opening of the Westfield shopping mall and the new re-development of the area which starts next March, Hammersmith & Fulham Council have demanded the roof is repaired and walls damp-proofed. This will cost £300,000 more than the cost of filling the venue with concrete, which is what they have proposed to do to save taxpayer's money.  Now I'm not a resident but if I was I'd be very happy for part of my council tax to go towards keeping this place alive, it adds a vibrancy and unconventionality to the area that a huge conglomerate like Westfield can't replicate.  The latest from Ginglik is that for now the council has taken them off the plans for redevelopment until a solution can be reached. In the meantime you can add your support to this online petition and get down there, it truly is a wicked place.

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Emma