Tomas Olesen checks out one of London's best comedy nights - Chapel Live.
I'm a huge Adam Buxton fan. Massive in fact. Fanatical some would say, although I'm not quite as bad as this lady. His regular show at the BFI called BUG is always a scalp-your-granny-for-a-ticket affair and his YouTube channel is worth signing up for an account all on its own. But for all my fandom I'd never seen him live. So when presented with that chance and also the oppportunity to visit the Union Chapel for the first time, it was too good a 'two birds one stone' moment to pass up.
Whatever your religious beliefs the Union Chapel is an amazing building: Victorian Gothic at its best. The unusual octagonal auditorium rises up to a beautifully carved wooden ceiling. The only problem with it is it's a touch on the cold side. But not to worry – the man charged with warming us up, our compere Dan Atkinson, does an excellent job, and at the start quickly deals with a front row heckler called Vicki. By the end of the evening one can't help feel a bit sorry for her as each comedian aims at least one or two verbal punches at her. None more effectively than our first act – Andi Osho.
I've only seen Andi on things like Mock The Week and the Michael McIntyre Roadshow before and wasn't a fan, but without having to pander to a television audience she lets loose some crackers. My favourite being an unmasking of the Stig only for it to turn out to be Maddy McCann. Vicki in the front row gets a particularly effective series of digs from Andi; she'd definitely not be someone to get into a slanging match with.
The fantastic Isy Suttie is up next and her cute and quirky style is immediately likable. She only does a short set, and I've seen some of it before, but it's really funny. I'm not normally a fan of musical comedy but she does just enough to justify the guitar around her neck, but not so much that it's her whole act. Her technique for sounding like Amy Winehouse down a well is particularly brilliant, and if she ever gives up on comedy she'd clearly make a mean beatboxer.
Tim Key, the comedy poet, graces the stage next and his talent for drawing people in to his strangely dream-like world is very much in evidence. He recycles a few bits from his incredible 'Slutcracker' show of last year, and as in 'Slutcracker' he makes a member of the front row hold his beer. Of course it can only be Vicki who gets picked on and when he finishes it he tosses the can at her. I finally feel a bit sorry for Vicki.
So we come to the headliner – Adam Buxton, aka Dr. Buckles MD. As a rabid fan, and as with the previous acts, I've seen some of his set before. But the delivery is spot on and his readings of YouTube comments are inspired. From finding out he has 'cold cancer' courtesy of a doctor in the audience to usurping Gwen Stephanie's 'Hollaback Girl' in to an ode to her own faeces, he and his charmingly literal mind have me chuckling. Ultimately it makes me realise how much I need to get tickets to the next BUG show.
Chapel Live comes highly recommended. They consistently have some of the best comedy line-ups in the capital and the unique space only adds to the great atmosphere.
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