Rab Brown
Rachel Anderson
Rachel Fairburn
Rachel Parris
Rachel Stubbings
Rainer Hersch
Raph Shirley
Ray Alan
Ray Bradshaw
Ray Kane
Ray Peacock
Raymond & Mr Timpkins Revue
Raymond Mearns
Rebecca Carrington
Red Redmond
Reece Shearsmith
Reggie Watts
Reginald D Hunter
Rev Obadiah Steppenwolf III
Rex Boyd
Rhod Gilbert
Rhodri Rhys
Rhona Cameron
Rhona McKenzie
Rhys Darby
Rhys Thomas
Ria Lina
Rich Fulcher
Rich Hall
Rich Wall
Rich Wilson
Richard Ayoade
Richard Bowen
Richard Brophy
Richard Coughlan
Richard Gadd
Richard Hanrahan
Richard Herring
Richard Morton
Richard Perry
Richard Pryer
Richard Pryor
Richard Rycroft
Richard Sandling
Richard Stainbank
Richard Todd
Richard Vranch
Rick Kiesewetter
Rick Molland
Rick Right
Rick Shapiro
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Grover
Rik Mayall
Rik Moore
Rita Rudner
Ro Campbell
Rob Alderson
Rob Beckett
Rob Brydon
Rob Carter
Rob Collins
Rob Deb
Rob Deering
Rob Heeney
Rob Hitchmough
Rob Riley
Rob Rouse
Rob Schneider
Rob Tarbuck
Robert Commiskey
Robert Newman
Robert Webb
Robert White
Robin Banks
Robin Buckland
Robin Cousins
Robin Ince
Rod Shepherd
Roddy Fraser
Rodney Marques
Roger D
Roger Monkhouse
Rohan Agalawatta
Roisin Conaty
Roland Gent
Romesh Ranganathan
Ron Vaudry
Ronnie Barker
Ronnie Corbett
Ronnie Edwards
Ronnie Golden
Rory Bremner
Rory O'Hanlon
Rosie Martin
Rosie Wilby
Ross Ashcroft
Ross Lee
Ross Noble
Rowan Atkinson
Rowena Haley
Roy Chubby Brown
Rudi Lickwood
Rufus Hound
Russell Brand
Russell Howard
Russell Kane
Russell Peters
Ruth Bratt
Ruth E Cockburn
Ryan Cull
Ryan Gleeson
Ryan Gough
Ryan McDonnell
Ryan O’Donoghue
Richard Vranch
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Improviser Richard Vranch is a Comedy Store Player, one of Paul Merton's Impro Chums, a Steve Frost Impro Allstar and co-founder of The YarnBards, improvised storytelling troupe. In 2004, he celebrated 25 years at the Edinburgh Fringe; first performing with the Cambridge Mummers. He has a Ph. D in radiation physics from the university – and was also a research fellow at St John's College, Oxford, for nine months. In 1981 Richard began writing and performing a double-act with Tony Slattery on the London comedy circuit. He was most famously the musical accompanist on Whose Line Is It Anyway? but his CV includes various radion panel shows, including Radio 2's Jammin' and Radio 4's Just A Minute, plus TV appearances and writing credits on The Paul Merton Show, The Secret Policeman's Biggest Ball (appearing on stage with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore), Cue The Music,The Rory Bremner Show and more. He had his own eight-part Channel 4 science series, Beat That Einstein and co-hosted the Channel 4 quiz series The Music Game with Tony Slattery. In 1988, he toured a sketch show around Cyprus, Jordan, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and the following year he co-wrote and performed the Radio 2 sketch show The Hot Club with Arthur Smith, Josie Lawrence and Ronnie Golden. With collaborator Lucy Allen. he has also made animations for Smack the Pony and in the Body Zone of the Millennium Dome, as well as cartoons published in Punch, The Spectator and Maxim. |
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Mike Myers with the Comedy Store Players |
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![]() You’d be forgiven for thinking that The Comedy Store Players are as old as London itself. It’s not such a stretch of the imagination to picture Guy Fawkes taking time out from stock-piling his sulphur by popping over to Piccadilly Circus to watch Neil Mullarkey pretending to be an Argentine cross-dressing cross-country skier trying to unblock a gutter with an ironing board. In Pyongyang. And Jack the Ripper allegedly loved Richard Vranch’s impression of a thimble. Alas, the comedy collective have in fact been going for just 26 years and the sweaty throngs in The Store on Sunday night witnessed a performance like no other: a rare, unbilled, return from one of their original members- Hollywood funny man Mike Myers. Myers’s Wayne’s World and Austin Powers creations alone have grossed almost one billion dollars (say it in the voice) worldwide and his most recent pay packet was reportedly $10million for his voice in Shrek 3 - a role he could’ve performed in his underpants. Or dressed as a thimble. But on Sunday night in London the unassuming Canadian rocked up off the street in a Joy Division T-shirt and jeans looking for some off-piste action. He looked less like a multimillionaire movie star and more like, well, a Comedy Store Player. Sporting a pleasant centre parting, trademark curtains, and cheeky beer gut, the 48-year-old appeared in jovial spirits throughout and his mere presence seemed to spark a celebratory charge among the Players. There was a lot of love in the Store... just don’t mention The Love Guru. It’s often been suggested that The Players are so in tune with each other that their improv performance can often seem a bit too polished - and, because of this, some of the biggest laughs come when they’re purposefully trying to catch each other out. So no prizes for guessing who was at the receiving on this occasion. Indeed, they constantly threw impossible song themes, which no one else could deal with, straight at Myers. He fended them off by singing, perfectly on cue: ‘This is how you treat A GUEST!?’ As the Guest, Myers himself excelled; when his laughs came they were the biggest squeals of the night. His Last Gas Station before the Desert and Mind The Gap routines with Josie Lawrence and Neil Mullarkey respectively were delights, as was his bionic arm skit, which saw his arm sprout back and forth depending on the multiple flashback scenes. This was no chore for Myers- being funny comes naturally to him- he could’ve spent the whole two hours farting the Canadian national anthem and the audience would’ve still lapped it up. And though he wasn’t quite as consistent as one or two of the other Players, he was still strikingly adept and quick-witted (watching him attempt to squeeze the blood from a blood orange with his robot arm was as funny as anything else all night) and there’s no doubt that he’d be an even better ‘improviser’ had he been doing this every week since 1985 but, well, he’s been somewhat busy conquering Hollywood. What of the trusty Players themselves? Richard Vranch’s impressive display makes you wonder why he was so wasted as the musician on Whose Line Is It Anyway? Neil Mullarkey gave a commandingly charismatic display as the alpha-male ringleader and Myers’s BBF. Suki Webster, while very capable, struggled to escape her role as the Token Girl. Andy Smart, resembling a science teacher who takes his work (read: chemicals) home with him just seemed happy to be there, and was very good, to boot. Wearing the snazziest pair of brogues seen on a London stage this year, Phelim McDermott was a revelation, injecting proceedings with a very welcome offbeat surrealism – think David Lynch meets Mr Bean. But the standout was Josie Lawrence - churning out a flawless performance, she was the one whom the others turn to to bail them out of a sticky spot. She was never lost for words, noises, or lyrics and rather resembled that annoying kid in the school play who knows everyone’s lines. It’s true that no Comedy Store Players show is the same, with or without Myers, but you’re guaranteed the laughs no matter what the bizarre context. Five minutes of Phelim McDermott mumbling a completely nonsensical, made-up language (he was supposed to be a Peruvian landscape gardener obsessed with pissoirs on mountain tops) contained more laughs than an entire Michael McIntyre DVD. The only segment which fell flat was the ‘Guess the job’ round - it was too long, too strained, just too much of a one-trick pony with increasingly tenuous puns and, ultimately, not funny enough. That is to say, it would probably still be good enough for a commission on BBC3. But, then, the whole nature of this show is throwaway. It exists only in its time; there is no script, the narrative is conjured up on the spot and largely forgotten thereafter. But that’s fine, because for those two hours in The Store it is a complete and utter treat performed by an improv group of unparalleled quality and standing. And a chap called Mike. Just a quick word about the audience, who seem to think it their mission to be as funny as the Players: FYI it’s probably not the first time the Players have heard ‘gynaecologist’ or ‘taxidermist’ being suggested as jobs. Hearing such tiresome bellows from the audience on a weekly basis is surely enough to make Mullarkey and Co. contemplate packing this improv lark in and getting themselves real jobs. Like a gynaecologist. Or a taxidermist. Please don’t. And Mr Myers, please feel free to return to The Store whenever you so desire; even if it’s to fart the national anthem. |
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| Date of live review: Wednesday 6th Jul, '11 | |
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Review by © 2011 Marc Butler |
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Monday 1st Nov, '10- | |
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Monday 12th Jul, '10- | |
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Where can I see Richard Vranch next?
Recommended| 20:00 - Wednesday 22nd Feb, '12 | |
| Venue: | Comedy Store |
| Prices: | £17 (£12 concs) |
| Show: | The Comedy Store Players |
Recommended| 20:00 - Sunday 26th Feb, '12 | |
| Venue: | Comedy Store |
| Prices: | £17 (£12 concs) |
| Show: | The Comedy Store Players |
Recommended| 20:00 - Wednesday 29th Feb, '12 | |
| Venue: | Comedy Store |
| Prices: | £17 (£12 concs) |
| Info: | Marcus Brigstocke, Lee Simpson, Neil Mullarkey, Richard Vranch, Josie Lawrence, Andy Smart |
| Show: | The Comedy Store Players |
Recommended| 20:00 - Sunday 4th Mar, '12 | |
| Venue: | Comedy Store |
| Prices: | £17 (£12 concs) |
| Info: | Paul Merton, Neil Mullarkey, Lee Simpson, Richard Vranch, Suki Webster, Josie Lawrence |
| Show: | The Comedy Store Players |
Recommended| 20:00 - Wednesday 7th Mar, '12 | |
| Venue: | Comedy Store |
| Prices: | £17 (£12 concs) |
| Info: | Neil Mullarkey, Lee Simpson, Richard Vranch, Andy Smart, Niall Ashdown, Josie Lawrence |
| Show: | The Comedy Store Players |
Recommended| 20:00 - Sunday 11th Mar, '12 | |
| Venue: | Comedy Store |
| Prices: | £17 (£12 concs) |
| Info: | Paul Merton, Lee Simpson, Neil Mullarkey, Richard Vranch, Andy Smart, Josie Lawrence |
| Show: | The Comedy Store Players |
Recommended| 20:00 - Wednesday 14th Mar, '12 | |
| Venue: | Nottingham Royal Centre |
| Prices: | £23 |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
| 20:00 - Monday 19th Mar, '12 | |
| Venue: | Liverpool Empire |
| Prices: | Call for prices |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
| Tuesday 20th Mar, '12 | |
| Venue: | Llandudno Venue Cymru |
| Prices: | Call for prices |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| 20:00 - Friday 23rd Mar, '12 | |
| Venue: | Eastbourne Congress Theatre |
| Prices: | £23 |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| 20:00 - Saturday 24th Mar, '12 | |
| Venue: | Guildford G Live |
| Prices: | £24 (£21 concs) |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| 20:00 - Sunday 25th Mar, '12 | |
| Venue: | Blackpool Grand |
| Prices: | Call for prices |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
| 19:30 - Monday 26th Mar, '12 | |
| Venue: | Perth Concert Hall & Theatre |
| Prices: | £20 |
| Show: | |
Recommended| 19:30 - Tuesday 27th Mar, '12 | |
| Venue: | Glasgow Pavilion Theatre |
| Prices: | £23 |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| 20:00 - Friday 30th Mar, '12 | |
| Venue: | Dunstable Grove Theatre |
| Prices: | £23 |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| 20:00 - Saturday 31st Mar, '12 | |
| Venue: | Southampton Guildhall |
| Prices: | £23 |
| Show: | |
| 19:30 - Sunday 1st Apr, '12 | |
| Venue: | Yeovil Octagon Theatre |
| Prices: | £23 |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
| 20:00 - Monday 2nd Apr, '12 | |
| Venue: | Torquay Princess Theatre |
| Prices: | Call for prices |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| Tuesday 3rd Apr, '12 | |
| Venue: | Weston-super-Mare Playhouse |
| Prices: | Call for prices |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
| 20:00 - Friday 6th Apr, '12 | |
| Venue: | Watford Colosseum |
| Prices: | £21 to £24 |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
| 20:00 - Saturday 7th Apr, '12 | |
| Venue: | Birmingham Alexandra Theatre |
| Prices: | Call for prices |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| Monday 9th Apr, '12 | |
| Venue: | Dartford Orchard Theatre |
| Prices: | Call for prices |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| Tuesday 10th Apr, '12 | |
| Venue: | Leicester De Montfort Hall |
| Prices: | Call for prices |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
| Friday 13th Apr, '12 | |
| Venue: | Southend Cliffs Pavilion |
| Prices: | Call for prices |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| Saturday 14th Apr, '12 | |
| Venue: | Northampton Royal & Derngate |
| Prices: | Call for prices |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| Sunday 15th Apr, '12 | |
| Venue: | Cardiff Wales Millennium Centre |
| Prices: | £21 to £24 |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| 20:00 - Monday 16th Apr, '12 | |
| Venue: | Oxford New Theatre |
| Prices: | Call for prices |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| 20:00 - Tuesday 17th Apr, '12 | |
| Venue: | Swindon Wyvern Theatre |
| Prices: | £24 |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| 20:00 - Wednesday 18th Apr, '12 | |
| Venue: | Aylesbury Waterside Theatre |
| Prices: | Call for prices |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| 20:00 - Friday 20th Apr, '12 | |
| Venue: | Brighton Dome |
| Prices: | £23 |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| 20:00 - Saturday 21st Apr, '12 | |
| Venue: | Kings Lynn Corn Exchange |
| Prices: | £24 (£21 concs) |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| Monday 23rd Apr, '12 | |
| Venue: | Ipswich Regent |
| Prices: | £23 (£20 concs) |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| 19:30 - Tuesday 24th Apr, '12 | |
| Venue: | Canterbury Marlowe Theatre |
| Prices: | £23 |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| 20:00 - Friday 27th Apr, '12 | |
| Venue: | Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre |
| Prices: | £23 |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| 19:30 - Saturday 28th Apr, '12 | |
| Venue: | High Wycombe Swan |
| Prices: | £24 (£21 concs) |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
| Monday 30th Apr, '12 | |
| Venue: | Tunbridge Wells Assembly Hall |
| Prices: | Call for prices |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| 20:00 - Friday 4th May, '12 | |
| Venue: | York Grand Opera House |
| Prices: | Call for prices |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| Saturday 5th May, '12 | |
| Venue: | Cambridge Corn Exchange |
| Prices: | Call for prices |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| 20:00 - Sunday 6th May, '12 | |
| Venue: | Wolverhampton Grand Theatre |
| Prices: | £23 |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
| 19:30 - Monday 7th May, '12 | |
| Venue: | Buxton Opera House |
| Prices: | £21 and £23 |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| Tuesday 8th May, '12 | |
| Venue: | Croydon Fairfield Halls |
| Prices: | Call for prices |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| 20:00 - Friday 11th May, '12 | |
| Venue: | St Albans Alban Arena |
| Prices: | £23 (£20 concs) |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| 20:00 - Saturday 12th May, '12 | |
| Venue: | Halifax Victoria Theatre |
| Prices: | £23 |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| 19:30 - Sunday 13th May, '12 | |
| Venue: | Salford Lowry |
| Prices: | £23 |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
| 20:00 - Monday 14th May, '12 | |
| Venue: | Nottingham Royal Centre |
| Prices: | £23 |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| Tuesday 15th May, '12 | |
| Venue: | Peterborough The Cresset |
| Prices: | Call for prices |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
| 20:00 - Friday 18th May, '12 | |
| Venue: | Coventry Warwick Arts Centre |
| Prices: | £23 (£20 concs) |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
| 20:00 - Saturday 19th May, '12 | |
| Venue: | Newcastle Journal Tyne Theatre |
| Prices: | £20 and £23 |
| Show: | |
Recommended| Sunday 20th May, '12 | |
| Venue: | Stoke-on-Trent Regent Theatre |
| Prices: | Call for prices |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| Monday 21st May, '12 | |
| Venue: | Sheffield Lyceum Theatre |
| Prices: | Call for prices |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| Wednesday 23rd May, '12 | |
| Venue: | Swansea Grand Theatre |
| Prices: | Call for prices |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| 20:00 - Thursday 24th May, '12 | |
| Venue: | Truro Hall For Cornwall |
| Prices: | £23 and £25 |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| 20:00 - Friday 25th May, '12 | |
| Venue: | Bristol Colston Hall |
| Prices: | £23 (£20 concs) |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |
Recommended| Saturday 26th May, '12 | |
| Venue: | Chatham Central Theatre |
| Prices: | Call for prices |
| Show: | Paul Merton's Out Of My Head |

Stephen Frost\'s Impro All Stars
Edinburgh Fringe 2004
Dogman
Paul Merton\'s Impro Chums
Edinburgh Fringe 2005
Paul Merton's Impro Chums
YarnBards
Edinburgh Fringe 2006
Paul Merton's Impro Chums
Edinburgh Fringe 2007
Yarnbards [ 2007]
Edinburgh Fringe 2008
Paul Merton's Impro Chums [2008]
Edinburgh Fringe 2011
Paul Merton's Impro Chums [2011]
Misc live shows
Carlsberg Comedy Carnival 2009
Tour
Paul Merton's Out Of My Head

