Review: Tony Basnett, Kahn Johnson and Kevin Wilkinson – The Clarendon, Hartlepool

Tony Basnett

As a special one off event for Trapdoor Comedy, Tony Basnett presented a preview for the two night run he and Kahn Johnson will be performing at the Manchester Comedy Festival later this month at their Hartlepool venue The Clarendon. As an addition to the regular club night ran here on the first Saturday of every month this gig was billed as £1 entry and free to regulars, so I wagered I’d definitely get my money’s worth out of this comedy offering.

Around 15 punters decided to spend their Thursday night in the Clarendon’s upstairs function room and I saw not one single pound exchange hands at the door – one can only assume by this that these dozen or so Hartlepudlians are Basnett’s audience. The emphasis on this gig was not to make money, however, it was to polish and test material for the upcoming Manchester festival. The Clarendon itself is an old traditional pub, complete with your typical locals and regulars at the bar; the function room is surprisingly spacious and looks to be an ideal venue for a regular comedy night.

Supporting Basnett and Johnson tonight was newer act Kevin Wilkinson with a short and dirty set involving crude one liners and a prop gag in particular that you wouldn’t believe if I told you. Wilkinson did extremely well to open the first section to such a small room on his own; he kicked off the night with a deadpan and suitably rude manner. For an act that has only had 12 months experience on the comedy circuit, he started the show professionally considering there was no real MC to warm up the crowd and he had to carry the first half on his own back, however the audience soon warmed to Wilkinson and the night got on track for the second half.

The second section of the show saw Tony Basnett and Kahn Johnson preview their shared one hour slot. Johnson was up first, showcasing his 30 minutes titled ‘Cakes and Violence.’ He is an engrossingly likeable character on stage, telling tales on recent news stories and events that completely rope you in and make you forget yourself for a moment. However Johnson needs to match this enthusiasm, clear cut sharpness and storytelling prowess with better confidence in his material – though for a show that he claims to have written that afternoon this is understandable. This is, of course, the very nature of a preview show, and you can in no way judge on this showing. Sometimes a comic will need to look at their notes or slow things down for a moment, it’s all part and parcel of sculpting and nurturing their material so it’s fit for a paying audience.

After Kahn’s short solo offering, Tony Basnett took to the stage with a couple of mini chalkboards proclaiming that, ‘We’re here to play a game’, and to tally up whether Basnett is in fact childish or grown up – which is, of course, the theme for the show entitled ‘Simon Says Grow Up.’ In the 30 minute set Basnett provided the audience with many routines and anecdotal stories and encourages interaction with the audience, which actually proved instrumental and less of a distraction than I would have thought. This interaction provided natural breaks in the show and allowed Basnett some room to breathe and time to think, or an escape clause if things sagged a bit. Basnett’s performance was a lot smoother and relaxed than when I’ve previously seen him, but then again this is his gig and this is his audience. Hopefully he can repeat this fine performance at the Manchester Comedy Festival.

You can find out more about Trapdoor Comedy here, including details for next month’s gong show with Sam Gore. And if you’re in Manchester next week Tony and Kahn will be performing at Apotheca on the 20th and 21st of October, details for which can be found here.