Laughing Bishops Comedy Club and Dunmow Comedy Club return featuring Smack the Pony's Fiona Allen and Roger Monkhouse headlining

paul.winspear@iliffemedia.co.uk

Published: 19:22, 09 September 2021

| Updated: 19:24, 09 September 2021

Bishop's Stortford comedian Paddy Lennox looks ahead as his comedy clubs in Stortford and Dunmow return this month...

I've heard they're digging up the roads just in time for the school run, we're about to run out of Prosecco due to a lorry driver shortage and Boris is going on holiday leaving Dominic Raab in charge.

So I’m guessing you'll want a larger dollop of laughter then? And I promise you it’s not a Zoom gig. No, no, no – all the Zoom gigs are safely boxed away in a lab in Wuhan.

Laughing Bishops Comedy Club takes place monthly at the Water Lane United Reformed Church hall

At last my Laughing Bishops and Dunmow comedy clubs are reopening. So stow away the unopened sun lotion and come down to the comedy.

Can you believe the last comedy night was way back in February 2020? It was so long ago that I’m sure it was done by gas light and an air raid siren went off.

Well, we're back and the comics are rearing to go. This season we have some great acts fresh from the summer festival season so they'll be glad to be under a roof.

Laughing Bishops Comedy Club founder and compere Paddy Lennox lives in Stortford

In June we held the first outdoor Stortford Comedy Weekend and, in spite of the weather, it was a great success. We're planning another one next year along with adding an evening of comedy to the Bish Bash music festival in June.

We've also started a community interest company called MicDrop Gigs that will bring comedy to the margins of Herts and Essex.

Our first gig back is on Friday (September 10) at Foakes Hall in Dunmow, where the headliner will be Fiona Allen from Channel 4 sketch show Smack The Pony, which ran from 1999 to 2003 and on which she appeared with Doon Mackichan and Sally Phillips.

Fiona will be supported by Leo Kearse, a towering 6ft 6in of Scottish hilarity, and Mike Gunn, who is as dry as ever.

Fiona Allen headlines Dunmow Comedy Club

On Saturday the 18th we are in the Water Lane United Reformed Church hall in Stortford with Roger Monkhouse, one of the most original and distinctive acts on the comedy scene.

In support we have the hilarious Maureen Younger and Jason Patterson making their first appearances at Water Lane, though I've worked with both before and it's always a joy to be in their company.

If you’ve not been before it’s a family-run gig and the team are all ready to give you a great time.

Roger Monkhouse headlines Laughing Bishops Comedy Club

We've teamed up with Stortford's The Secret Sausage Shop to bring you award-winning bangers and mash, so you won’t go hungry. Dunmow Comedy Club has the added bonus of home-made chilli nachos and guacamole. Cask ale comes from the Colchester Brewery and wines from Waples Wines of Stortford, so it's all local stuff.

All the acts are friends of mine from the Comedy Store in London. Comics love a good room, and both clubs have garnered a fabulous reputation on the circuit and the acts love playing them.

So why not find out for yourself what makes the club such a great night out? Mailing list members get a discount so just drop us an email at info@laughingbishops.co.uk and we’ll add you. Tickets can be bought from www.paddylennox.com.

Dunmow Comedy Club