Dan Nightingale 2008

From the Chortle Fast Fringe 2008 showcase

More Dan Nightingale videos

Originally from Preston, Lancashire Dan Nightingale started his comedy career while living in Newcastle in 2002. After working at The Hyena Comedy Café as a sound man for six months, he finally got on stage.

He moved to Manchester within 12 months he went from barman at the Frog & Bucket, to booking agent, to hosting the new act night and finally compering the weekends.

In June 2004 he turned professional. At that year's Edinburgh festival he performed as part of the Big Value Comedy Show, returning in 2005 as part of a double header with Josie Long.

Laugh Inn, Chester, Opening Night
Live Review

Indeed, Chester’s Laugh Inn used to be a working men’s club – but is now Britain’s newest dedicated comedy venue. There have been surprisingly few in recent years, despite the supposed boom in stand-up. Aside from a few refits following the collapse of Jongleurs’ former owners, growth has been in high-end theatre shows and low-end pub gigs. The sort of mid-market activity that gave us the Comedy Stores, Stands, Frog and Buckets, Glees and, indeed, original Jongleurs of the last comedy surge has been notably absent in this one.

The Laugh Inn almost didn’t make it in time for opening night. A planned launch party earlier the week was cancelled as builders worked round-the-clock to get it finished. Even now, tarpaulin obscures the yet-to-be finished balcony.

But what is done looks good. The studio room would be a half-decent venue in its own right; a small stand-up stage in the corner of a sizeable bar. But the main room seats hundreds, even without the balcony – the exact number depending on whether the chairs are cabaret-style around tables, or, as tonight, mostly in rows.

The man behind all this has plans for more Laugh Inns. As a former Comedy Store manager, John Locke has seen first-hand how a good comedy room works, and his experience also includes classy Manchester bar The Northern and much-loved music venue Band On The Wall. This club has a few teething problems tonight – the sound, especially starts dreadful and upgrades only to acceptable as the show goes on – but it has a lot of promise. The question will be whether a town of 77,000 and its environs can sustain such a large space – if it can, the prognosis is good for similar-sized communities across the county.

One of those 77,000 residents is tonight’s compere, Danny McLoughlin, pictured, who admits playing to so many people he personally knows is a slightly odd concept. Amid the home-town banter, he’s got charming and funny material about growing up poor and the very British disappointment of the low-rent Gulliver’s World theme park.

If McLoughlin was the voice of the town, opening act Hal Cruttenden was the fey Southerner, living up to every middle-class stereotype – and teasing the Northerners for theirs. ‘Some of you fucking hate me,’ he said after his tongue-in-cheek ribbing – though it’s unlikely they did; his tales of unmanly ailments, camp attitude and relationship with a forceful Ulsterwoman with terrifying accent proved a fine opening to the venue. Curious side note, though: not one of the audience acknowledged being a gay man when Cruttenden asked.

Manchester-based Dan Nightingale filled the second section, with a frisky and playful set, taking good-natured pops at the iron-pumping muscleheads at his gym and summing up Britain’s attitude to drink with devastating accuracy. And, of course, there’s nothing audiences like more than being told what feckless drunks they are – it reinforces an odd sense of identity.

The bill was completed by a fourth likeable lad, Justin Moorhouse, doing his first gig in three and a half months. ‘This place is nice,’ he said. ‘They’ve Hollyoakes it up.’ As a jovial, chubby Northern comic, Moorhouse could probably have played the venue in its old incarnation. But that’s another stereotype; his teasing, often daft, material might not be particularly challenging, but it undoubtedly works, and is enlivened by flourishes of skilful language, such as describing his teenage offspring as ‘a yawn in a hood’. The crowd are duly pleased.

A strong opening weekend, then, for this welcome venture, with the sort of reliably amusing comics it should be able to attract week after week. No showboating launch with TV-grade stars being tapped for favours, creating unrealistic expectations; but a representative night that will hopefully draw the punters back week after week. Locke’s bank manager is presumably hoping it will.

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Saw Dan at the Edinburgh Festival this year and he was brilliant. He combined both hilarious stories and witty one-liners with ease. His audience banter is also second to none. Highly recommended.

Phil O\'Donnell, August 2008

Just seen him compere the Oak in Leeds. Utterly. Hilarious.Only this man can come onstage without any material and still have you crying with laughter. If you get the chance - see him, even if only for 10 minutes onstage.

Stephen, May 2008

Saw Dan last night headlining at Dean Clough Halifax. I must say a very talented performer, controlling the room and a great presence. He made it look so easy. Highly recommended.

Tel Banham, March 2008

Dan was first on stage at the Bully in Oxford, performed with very gentle ease on stage, warmed up a tired Sunday evening audience and got lots of giggles in return. Nice and mellow lad!

Samantha Reynolds, October 2007

An absolute superstar... makes compering look as easy as scratching your bum. Seen him about twelfty times and he's still one of my favourite comics on the circuit.

Lou, August 2007

Dan compered our small club in York on March 25 and did a great job of livening the place up as the crowd was fairly quiet. Good interaction with the audience and very funny.

Ben Cartwright, March 2007

Saw him at XS Malarkey in Manchester last Tuesday, and also three months ago, totalling about 90 minutes of stage time, and it was fantastic. Probably only 30 minutes of prepared material between the two gigs, the rest was free-form comments, voices and occasionally obscenely blunt judgements about the audience - this guy's banter is more creative than most comedians' material, and rather puts Jason Byrne into the shade.\r\n\r\nI would love to see him do a tour of primary schools.

Twilkes, January 2007

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