Review: Gary Delaney, Bethany Black and Steffen Peddie – The Studio, Hartlepool

Gary Delaney

I am glad to be able to say I am among the dozen punters who attended last night’s Big Owl comedy club at The Studio, as it turned out to be the last such event to be held in this venue. I am not, however, pleased that this is the case. The Studio is a fantastic small venue usually reserved for local bands and indie gigs, and has a strong reputation in Hartlepool; and, as far as the comedy was concerned, the Big Owl nights present one of the friendliest and inclusive atmospheres I’ve personally witnessed in a comedy club. It is more than a shame this night will be discontinued.

Of the twelve people that attended tonight (Giggle Beats, a few comedians, a local café owner and friends, father and son and an IT/bouncer bloke), I strongly imagine all had an enjoyable evening; and, although the gig didn’t reach the levels where punters would be telling people ‘I was there’ in the future as MC Steffen Peddie jokingly suggested, on the strength of this gig alone I believe the club deserved so much better in terms of a supportive, regular audience. But then again hosting a show in the North East on Halloween night just after a Newcastle v Sunderland football match has is never going to attract a massive crowd.

As a treat for the small Hartlepool audience (along with the edible treats Peddie’s wife had kindly prepared for the Halloween punters) Steffen shared some personal and, at times, downright unbelievable tales from his time as a professional wrestler. These stories were fantastical and highly captivating, bringing to mind scenes of 80’s pro wrestling on ITV with old ladies screaming ‘hit him with a chair!’ to the likes of Big Daddy or Giant Haystacks.

Bethany Black opened in a style suitably dark for this black humour-themed Halloween event. As an act she commands attention from her audience, drawing you in with her likeable stage persona then blind sights you with a sick punch line or clever turn of phrase. Black strikes a bold figure on stage, telling the completely male audience tales of lesbianism and BDSM (that’s bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism to me and you) while exclaiming that October 31st is the one night of the year she doesn’t dress all in black.

The headliner for the night was Gary Delaney, a one-liner comedian who is often compared to Jimmy Carr as a result of their similar style of comedy. Personally, I would say Delaney definitely betters Carr on the bad taste and offensive jokes front, a type of joke which they are both very familiar with – and, barring the two occasions when Delaney repeated a gag, he rattled through his best jokes seamlessly with ease and was encouraged into his sickest material by the small crowd, and this reviewer, who loved every minute of it.

Punters may have been tricked into thinking this gig was going to be a disaster looking at the poor attendance for the show but little did they know the treat they were in for on this Halloween night.

Big Owl Comedy Club will continue to run in their Hexham and Sunderland venues, details for which can be found here.