It’s the first Thursday of the festival and I thought I’d drop by Tiger Lounge to see what was going on there. Cat’s Cradle Comedy run by comedy promoter, BBC employee and burlesque dancer Cat Davies were putting on three nights of shows at the venue. All was relaxed when I arrived as after last night’s opening had gone well subsiding any initial festival jitters. Last night had seen performances from Piff The Magic Dragon and Graham Goring and Chris Stokes in Nerds of a Feather and tonight was the turn of Ian Fox and Wil Hodgson.
Unveiling a new style show, Fox debuted Ian Fox Exposes Himself – nope not what you might be thinking but a selection funny snaps from the stand up who originally trained as a photographer. Proving he’s still has an eye for a photo as well a humorous scene the show was a hugely enjoyable journey through pics taken in his adopted home of Manchester, his native Chester and one sequence starring Ideal’s Seymour Mace guesting as Wally of Where’s Wally fame.
The second show of the night was Chippenham’s own Wil Hodgson presenting a blend of anecdotes in Hodgson’s traditional laidback demeanour and utterly beguiling style. There were tales of the Care Bear tattooed and My Little Pony collecting comedian’s adventures in Melbourne and around the boot sales of Edinburgh where to his amazement he found a treasure trove of specialist porn in an old suitcase.
Next week sees shows by Patrick Monahan, Sean Moran and Jonathan Paylor - be sure to catch them.