Many say a Gong Show is the most exciting live comedy show format you can get*… others say they are scarred for life and never doing that ever again**

Join us for this exhilarating stand up show! Consisting of 15 comedians each trying to make it to the end of a 5 mins set for a place in the “Clap Off” final.

Ali Warwood will host the show and the winner gets a cash prize and stage time at Commoners’ Comedy Club.

* punters

** acts

"The Oozes is a band you need to check out. They released their debut EP last summer, and it was an instant hit, with the most notable single from the EP "Blah Blah Blah" hitting over three million streams." - Punktuation Mag

Matt Hoss has changed. Years ago, he was young, punk and slept mostly in his car. Now he has a competitively priced mortgage in a lovely neighbourhood. When did things start going so right? Join Matt as he unpicks all the things that have gone well for him in the last two years. This promises to be a highly silly, joyful and inspiring show.

“A fantastic act.... Charming, hilarious and very quick-witted” - Age UK

“Warm and endearingly funny” NARC magazine

“Funny Brave and Intelligent” ★★★★ Lancashire Post

“Really funny” ★★★★ Broadway Baby

“One of the funniest, most enjoyable comedy shows we’ve been to” – Monsoon

Eric Barker Award Winner 2015

Daniel Nicholas est 1991. ('a powerful performer' - Notts Comedy Reviewer, Best Improv Show Leicester Comedy Festival) is having a party and you're invited.

Missing the schools games of our childhood this Daniel does his best to replicate those feelings of yesteryear. Featuring team games, party hats, balloons, and who can do the best Sean Connery impression. This audience interactive game show seeks out to find who is the best Fringe Festival audience.

No promises on the goodie bag at the end though. If you just want to blow off steam and make silly faces and noises more frequently then this is for you.

Set out cabaret style with candles on tables, it’s a comfortable and intimate space to listen to the best emerging and established artists from the area.

Georgie Buchanan:

Inspired by voyages to the Outer Hebrides, tales of ancient Celtic Goddesses and great folk singers from Peggy Seegar to Joni Mitchell, Georgie Buchanan is a unique singer and harpist on the contemporary folk scene. Georgie will be performing music from her debut album ‘Wise as a Fool’ alongside flautist and singer Rob Mackay (Drymbago). Working in this unique duo, Georgie crafts haunting musical landscapes of harmonies and shimmering instrumentals. Interweaving traditional melodies with original compositions, songs and stories, Georgie’s music speaks of a heartfelt connection with the natural world and charts a personal story of recovery that is relatable at its core.

Mahogany Tales:

Mahogany Tales is all about melancholy. The songs that she writes navigate the realms of the bittersweet and the heartfelt. From the rich and vulnerable vocals to the delicate guitar finger picking, she tells the stories of emotions with honesty and authenticity.Her solo EP ‘In the midst of things’ has been recorded with Dan Wilde at Gladeside Recordings and will be released on April 2nd 2023. Camille and her music were featured on BBC Cambridgeshire and Cambridge 105. She performed at the Cambridge Folk Festival in 2022.

Fin Taylor is back on the road with a brand new trunk of painfully funny stand-up for 2023. Sure he’s married with a kid, but that hasn’t made him any less naughty. If anything, it’s only made him even hungrier for that juicy sacred cow meat- and this tour, he’s going after our cultural obsession with mental health. After being locked inside for two years it’s all anyone wants to talk about. But are we actually talking about it or have we just reached the final frontier of a narcissistic society’s obsession with labels?

Fin Taylor has made a name for himself as one of the most talked about comedians working in the UK. He achieved critical acclaim and sell-out runs at Edinburgh Fringe for his last three shows, Whitey McWhiteface, Lefty Tighty Righty Loosey and When Harassy Met Sally. He’s also appeared on Comedy Central’s Roast Battle and Live From the Comedy Store, BBC’s Live at the Apollo, Have I got News for You and The Mash Report, as well as garnering fame for his hit web series Fin vs The Internet.

“Gleefully provocative and packed with big, hard laughs”

★★★★ The Guardian

“A gutsy, ingenious truth-teller with the jokes to back up the attitude”

★★★★ The Times

THE CHRIS NORTON-WALKER EXPERIENCE

"The now award winning comedian presents a gloriously inventive hour of one liners, jokes and puns, gags, and wordplay. Possibly the most jokes per hour in the festival. There's no experience like the Chris Norton Walker Experience

"Hilarious to watch" - LocalSecrets.com

"A fun, teasing way of keeping the audience on their toes" - Chortle/Steve Bennett

"Cementing his reputation as one of the best up and coming acts around" - Funny First Mondays

Aaron has been doing stand-up comedy without actually standing up for 8 years now, and it's time for that to change! So he’s attempting to do something he's never done before... Stand-up comedy, standing up.

“An amazing storyteller…there’s never a dull moment…hilarious.” ««««« Neurodiverse Review

“Simmonds is hysterically funny and puts on a great show.” «««« Voice

“A natural storyteller…the audience are rapt.” «««« Wee Review

“Refreshingly different” «««« Metro

As seen on The Russell Howard Hour, Guessable and The Stand Up Sketch Show

The Yorkshire scamp has had enough! Time to take a stand against housemates, homeowners and the North/South divide in this work in progress show.

You can pretend otherwise, but when it comes down to it we're all just hungry, horny and scared. A bunch of crabs at the bottom of a bucket. Let me be your crab leader as I carry you out of the darkness and into the promised land.

'One of the most exciting new comics I've seen for a long time. A very funny man' (Joe Lycett)

'Spontaneously witty with a distinctive line in absurdity ’ (Chortle)

★ ★ ★ ★ ‘Almost like magic’ Mumble Comedy

★ ★ ★ ★ Lancashire Post

This is one small set for Matt, one giant leap for Matt’s kind (i.e. science geeks). With humanity planning to return to the moon in 2025, this comedy show is about the Apollo missions, the last time man stepped foot on the moon (yes, it did happen!). This show is more about the journey than the destination. Telling the stories about the men who walked on the moon and how they did it. How did they get there? How did it make them feel? And how it is all really about Phil Collins? All the key questions will be addressed.

Matt Hobs returns to the Cambridge Fringe following successful solo shows in 2022 (‘Matt Hobs: Follow the Science’) and 2019 ('Matt Hobs BSc (Bristolian of Science)').

"Hobs' explanations are equal to that of the best lecturers, and undoubtedly funnier... a very likable leading comic with a talent for multimedia comedy.", The Wee Review

Best thing ever.

At the age of 36 Si had a baby. Well, his wife did, but he was very much involved. He’s tired now and confused as to why he’s writing this in third-person, but regardless has written a show. It’s the best thing ever ... The baby, not the show. Although the show is pretty damn good too.

Anyway, it's about the baby and other things in his life that are also pretty damn good and some that aren't.

One of the country's top new stand-ups presents their debut hour.

'Fearless comedian on the rise' (Daniel Kaluuya). Leicester Comedy Festival Best Show nominee.

'Very bloody funny' (Aisling Bea).

As seen on BBC One, Dave, Comedy Central, and at 25, already performing at major festivals and historic venues across the UK. 'Tadiwa has been gathering pace as a prodigious act' (Kiri Pritchard-McLean). An alumnus of the 2022 Pleasance Comedy Reserve at the Edinburgh Fringe, Tadiwa has provided tour support for Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Jessica Fostekew, and TV warm up for Desiree Burch’s Amazon Prime special.

A work-in-progress stand up comedy show from Amused Moose Finalist & Harrogate New Comedian of the Year finalist, Louise Atkinson.

A WIP comedy show from Amused Moose Finalist & Harrogate new Comedian of the Year finalist, Louise Atkinson.

You can never complete a night out with your friends unless someone has cried over their ex, you've all made a new best friend in the toilets that you'll never see again, and you've done three laps of the bar looking for Lisa. Seriously though, where is she?

Our friends are our chosen family. From the happiest times to breaking up with friends, grab a pint (of wine) and Louise will recount some of her funniest memories. Hopefully we find Lisa.

Wonderfully inventive stand-up comedy from this distinctive and uniquely talented comedian. As seen on Harry Hill’s Club Nite, Channel 4.

Wildly entertaining and absolutely funny’ Chortle

“Should be required viewing for all wannabe surrealists” The Skinny

“Call-backs, themes and clever wordplay dizzily weave in and out” The List

“An impressive knack for both observational wit and quirky flights of fancy.” The Evening Standard

Rumourville: have you heard the gossip?

The story of a small town where a rumour could ruin all. Improvised comedy, based on audience suggestions!

“My name is Harun Musho’d. That is an Arabic name. Good news is I can't fly a plane. Bad news is I have a rucksack." If you don’t like that joke, don’t come to this show.

"Smart...His use of irony and repetition has previously drawn comparison with Stewart Lee. And that’s on full display" The Scotsman

“If you get a chance to see this and miss it then you are a fool!” ★★★★★ Radio Faversham

"Excellent show. Sharp and witty comedy " Fringe Review

"A great comedian" ★★★★Views From The Gods

"Provocative" Chortle

Daniel Foxx: Villain (Work in Progress)

Heroes are boring. Draped in pearls and something uncomfortable from Zara, join Daniel Foxx as he tries out jokes for a show that will, eventually, be about embracing your inner baddie and having a little fun for goddamn once.

As seen on BBC One, BBC Three, Tour Support for Sofie Hagen, Josh Widdicombe and Judi Love, and on TikTok (’Bedtime Stories for Privileged Children’, ’The Supervillain’s Gay Assistant’).

Check out Daniel’s sketches on TikTok and Instagram!

“Funny and filthy” – Graham Norton

“Natural magnetism”, “easy charisma” – Steve Bennett, Chortle

Liz Guterbock (2022 Union Jack Radio One To Watch, 2021 Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year Nominee, 2020 British Comedy Guide Pro Performance Award Nominee, 2019 Funny women Finalist) presents her Work-In-Progress show, Geriatric Millennial.

Weaving a little California sunshine into her story-driven stand up, Liz will explore aging (dis)gracefully and whether it’s possible to stay in love with life as we get old(er).

"Punchy, slick and accomplished...Liz Guterbock['s] zippy performance - including a solid English accent - is refreshing, and the gags breezily amusing. A club ready act, for sure." Chortle

**Nominated for best musical comedy at the Leicester Comedy Festival 2023**

Paul Richards literally can't stop drumming; he's performed all over the world, from huge gigs in China to grotty working men's clubs, posh corporate gigs to the whole of the UK toilet circuit whilst eating more Ginsters slices than could be considered healthy. But is all that driving, alone, late at night, drum kit in the boot, odd smoke coming from the engine, so much time to think, good for your health?

A warm storytelling comedy show about why it's often quite degrading to play drums at someone else's wedding. **** (Scotsman)

How (not) to Cope’ is a stand-up comedy show about grief, how it can be better or worse, and most importantly, how it can be very funny. How is anyone supposed to deal with the death of a loved one? Isaac Kean’s answer is to write a “woe is me” tragicomedy. Join him as he teaches you how not to cope with whatever life throws at you, and answers the age-old question: can emotional struggle be genuine if it’s just part of a comedy show?

Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Newcomer Nominee. As seen on Comedy Central.

THE VARIABLES PRESENT 50 MINUTES OF SCIENCE COMEDY!

Science comedy troupe The Variables return from a sold-out show at the Cambridge Junction to present another evening of their signature comedy.

Join performers old and new as they make you laugh at all things science –from triumphs and disasters in the lab to their everyday adventures.

A comedy threesome from East Anglia is taking over! Join 3 of the brightest talents from the east Tom Alban, Louie Green and Martin Westgate as they bring they educate and entertain about being a 30-something from East Anglia! This is a comedy beast from the east.

Dazzling divas! Dramatic death scenes! Hilarious high notes! Party like it’s 1899, with Madame Chandelier, in an interactive introduction to opera that’s fun for the whole family. Will you meet an evil queen who sings way too high, a princess who can’t stop crying, or a priestess who’s always on fire? Anything could happen at the Opera Party. And you’re invited!

★★★★ Observer

★★★★ Scotsman

Suitable for children 5+

Shannon Lay’s latest album, Geist feels like a window - or a mirror - into possibilities of the self and beyond. Geist is tender intensity, placeless and ethereal. It exists in the chasms of the present -- a world populated by shadow selves, spiritual awakenings, déjà vu, and past lives. As a whole, Geist is both esoteric and accessible.

Initially forming in 2016, Cambridge quartet Lemondaze have become one of the finest emerging talents in Britain’s burgeoning alternative music scene thanks to their transcendental brand of shoegaze. Their debut EP Celestial Bodies is a testament to this- featuring swirling guitars and hypnotic drums that form to create an ethereal experience that enables the band to convey their varying expressions of cis and non-cisgenders and sexualities.

A brand new hour of comedy from the hilariously funny, aggressively nerdy and down right adorable Sasha Ellen. Sasha asks the big questions. Is it hard to find love in this here modern world? Does size matter? How have Dick and Dom got away with it all this time?

"Honest, hilarious and horrifying... the comedy future looks good for Ellen” Canal-St.

“Smart, self-possessed and with great heart… comedy done well” ★★★★ TheStudent

“This is a comedian you need to keep an eye out for” ★★★★ Phoenix Remix.

Nominated for Best New Show at Leicester Comedy Festival 2022.

Material heard on BBC Radio 4 Extra

Esther has always been told “Anger is not a good quality in a woman” and therefore has tried so very hard to keep a lid on it. Sadly, she failed and has decided to embrace her rage. How on earth can anyone be a woman, and a mother, and not continuously have their patience tested? She is fed up of every feeling being labelled hormonal, she is sick of being considered dead at 40, she is sick of online comments loaded with misogyny but most of all she is so sick of her coat rack which has way too many coats on it, its mocking her in it’s encapsulation of the perfect metaphor.

Come join Esther for a show of rage celebration, ladies we aint crazy, we are seething, and it feels great.

Seen on

Live at the Apollo

ITV stand up sketch show

Dave Hypothetical

4OD The prank podcast show

Heard on

Radio 4 News Quiz

Radio 4 Mark Watson What is life

**** The Standard

**** Three Weeks

**** The List

**** Funny Women

**** The Voice

**** One4review

**** Why Now

After fixing all the World’s problems last year, living legend and national treasure in waiting, Nick Helm returns to the stage with a WIP that promises to be every bit as awe inspiring, good looking and humble as the last one. Content in development.

Join award-winning double act Low Effort Sketches (Andy Bucks and Alice Wickersham) for an hour of silly sketch comedy! Andy and Alice have a problem: they want to be respected for their witty sketches and punchy one-liners, but their best material just consists of singing a popular Disney song at an extremely high pitch. This show charts their mission to write a sketch funnier than their terrible vocals. They will explore increasingly desperate sketch premises, including a reimagining of the UK Singles Chart, an alternative explanation for how World War 2 started, and a vicar working in a bureau de change. For fans of Mitchell and Webb or Armstrong and Miller.

Winners of Leicester Square Theatre Sketch Off 2022

“Unfollowable. Hilarious” - Chortle

As heard on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

Photo Credit: Andy Hollingworth