Skip to main content

Review of Feast Of Fools Storytelling #12 - Open Mic Night at the NN Cafe, Northampton

It was birthday time at the NN Cafe as Feast of Fools became a year old. A relatively small (guys come to open mics they are great), but enthusiastic crowd were present to see the eight performers on the evening.

Our host for the first half was Richard York who welcomed us to the evening with a none too offensive blast on his bagpipes before spiraling into a number of thanks for those who made the first year such a success. After this he gave a tale of a bag filled with torn up tales. It was all great fun to get the evening going. This was promptly followed by two lovely songs from Theresa Kelleher, the second of which was especially quite amazing.

For birthday night we had just the one new performer, however what a new performer. Lynette Hill gave us a quite magical tale of her gran's adventures with her ducks, Cuff and Link. Funny, uplifting and endlessly entertaining. It was quite a debut.

We needed a great star to follow that. We got Dave Blake. I have to say I frequently zone out of the the actual story Mr Blake is telling, as I usually end up in agony from the pun heavy antics. However on this occasion, I remained in the room this time for his always funny tale of Codrod's cap. A star performance once again

The interval then occurred, of which I only mention as I won a chocolate bunny in the raffle.

Our host for the second half was Sue Martin, who after the evening expectation of encouraging us all into a sing song of Happy Birthday, went into her own little tale. It was a rather happy and sad one of a boy born as a clown, trapped behind a white face, big red nose and a shock of ridiculous hair. It was however really entertaining.

Anne Marie Sando returned to the Feast Of Fools stage for just the second time. This time with a dramatically different tale from her previous fun and silly one. This one was a surprisingly erotic and strange tale with a very eerie edge. Pretty much all I can remember now is "rub me again, my love".

The ever reliable Stephen Hobbs was next up and once again one of his locally themed tales taking us through the presence of the devil in Northampton and culminating with a trip to St Peter and St Pauls graveyard. As ever a wonderful tale from Mr Hobbs.

As occurred for the very first Feast one year before, the energetic Red Phoenix closed the evening, with a tale of a unseen terror. During which a select few of the audience were picked on for their own suggestions of what the unseen looks like to them. Thankfully once my own thought had been stolen by another person, I was as ever thankful not to part of the show.

So another hugely entertaining open mic evening, full of laughter and interesting tales. And some bagpipes. We missed the two ladies that have been present at most of the previous shows in the last year, but the night was full of fun as ever. Roll on the next!

Performance reviewed: Wednesday 6th April, 2016 at the NN Cafe, Northampton.

Feast Of Fools is held on the first Wednesday of each month at the NN Cafe
Full details can be found at https://www.facebook.com/StorytellingFeast and Twitter @FOFStorytelling

Popular posts from this blog

Review of Eric and Ern at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

The comedy of Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise is carved into the very essence of Britishness, and while the years may now be distant from their domination of TV comedy, the light still shines bright on their work. This is thanks mostly to generation after generation being introduced to the shows via that near-annual appearance on TV schedules at Christmas. This will perhaps one day pass, but for now, this brilliant little show, Eric & Ern , now at Royal & Derngate, continues to honour that comedy on stage. Created and performed by Ian Ashpitel and Jonty Stephens, Eric & Ern is a show bringing the duo's most famous sketches and jokes back to the stage. Having worked together now for over twenty years, Ashpitel and Stephens have created the comedy act to perfection. Stephens brings Morecambe’s edgy, frantic energy and combines it perfectly with his timing and mannerisms; everything from the flick of the glasses to the wipe of the nose is pure Eric. Ashpital, as Wise has pe...

Review of The Karate Kid - The Musical at Milton Keynes Theatre

There is no denying that the world of musical theatre is tremendously imaginative, and of all the films that could be adapted, perhaps the eighties teen drama The Karate Kid was not at the top of most people's lists for a musical adaptation. However, as our stage versions of Mr Miyagi and Daniel LaRusso arrive at Milton Keynes Theatre on a UK tour, I am happy to say that this is one of the most sensible film-to-musical decisions. Recently relocated from New Jersey to LA, Daniel becomes the target of a gang of Cobra Kai dojo students. However, unbeknownst to him, a quiet and unassuming maintenance man at his new home, Mr Miyagi, is on hand to offer a little more than some bonsai training. The first thing that ticks the box for a film-to-musical adaptation is having an original soundtrack, not an endless collection of awkwardly shoehorned music classics into the story. Here, alongside book writer Robert Mark Kamen, are some brilliantly crafted tunes by composer and lyricist Drew Gasp...

Review of The Play That Goes Wrong at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

It is scary to contemplate that it is almost four years since I first saw Mischief Theatre's The Play That Goes Wrong . It is no secret that on that night I enjoyed it quite a bit (and ended up on stage, but that is another story). I returned the next evening to watch it again and then stalked it down to London later that same year, which over three years later it continues its remarkable West End success story. Since my last encounter with this original, I have seen Chris Bean's ramshackle Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society create chaos on stage and television with Peter Pan Goes Wrong , mess-up Dickens' A Christmas Carol and even gatecrash BBC Radio at Christmas. This fourth encounter with the original The Play That Goes Wrong though, offers the opportunity to see it in the hands of a different cast for the first time. How can pretenders of the original creators shape up in this anarchic disaster of a play? Actually, as it turns out remarkably well. It is true that ...