Edinburgh-bound duo make Barnard Castle return
Two rising stars of the UK comedy circuit are to bring their new shows to Barnard Castle this month.
Saturday 30 July will see Funny Way to Be favourites Steve Bugeja and Hayley Ellis return to perform their new Edinburgh Fringe shows in a pre-festival double bill.
Fresh from supporting Russell Kane on his national tour, this is your chance to catch highly-anticipated new show Unpronounceable from BBC Radio New Comedy Award 2013 winner Bugeja.
In October 2013 Steve was picked for Radio 4’s Fresh From The Fringe, and returned in 2014 to perform as part of the Fringe’s longest-running showcases, The Comedy Zone before making his solo Fringe debut last year.
A prolific writer, Steve has contributed material for Mock The Week, 8 out of 10 Cats and Russell Howard’s Good News. In 2012 he won the BBC’s Funny on Three sitcom competition and the BBC’s Jesting About 2 sketch competition. Steve has contributed material to Radio 4’s The Show What You Wrote and Radio 4 Extra’s topical sketch show Newsjack.
In Unpronounceable we find out a little more about Steve (he has a bag for life, he remembers it every single time – that’s not even his best chat up line, and only the third coolest thing about him) who has been called “an instinctive, genuine comic” (ShortCom) with “big laughs and gentle pathos” (Guardian).
Dubbed “an engaging and quick witted performer” (Fest), Manchester comedian and former regular contributor to XFM’s breakfast show Hayley Ellis has gone from strength to strength since she began performing in April 2009.
A popular MC at gigs around the country and regular contributor for BBC Two’s Russell Howard’s Good News, Ellis’s natural warmth and girl-next-door charm make her impossible to dislike, something which has become evident in her success in new act competitions throughout the UK. Ellis also recently supported comic and Catastrophe star Rob Delaney on tour.
Ellis makes a welcome return for the July show with a preview of her new show FOMO, in which the “destined for greatness” (XFM) Ellis examines the Fear of Missing Out phenomenon and finds out how neurotic we all really are.
Peter Dixon, of Funny Way To Be Comedy Club, said: “Both Steve and Hayley have given some great performances for us in the past. It’s a real delight to see their careers take off. In the past we have presented a number of Edinburgh nominated shows on this final weekend before the festival and we have high hopes this year too.”
Tickets are priced £8 advance/£10 door and are available from funnywaytobe.com.
