A St Albans-based star of Tonight at the Palladium and Russell Howard’s Good News will headline a stand-up comedy night in the city.
There’s another Humdinger night of stand-up comedy ahead in St Albans next week.
TV comedian Jarlath Regan headlines Thursday, February 28’s Humdingers Comedy Club night at the Abbey Theatre.
He will be joined by Chortle Best Newcomer Tom Ward, Ryan Dalton and Izzy Mant.
One of the hardest working comics on the circuit, you may have spotted St Albans resident Jarlath on one of his many appearances on BBC, ITV, Comedy Central and RTE in his homeland of Ireland.
He’s travelled the world performing at all the biggest comedy festivals and also supported Father Ted and Death in Paradise star Ardal O’Hanlon, Marc Maron and Jack Whitehall on tour.
Jarlath said: “With all the turmoil in the country at the moment, I feel like people really want to get out of the house and laugh.
“Humdingers Comedy always put on a great show with a mix of famous comedians and ones you might not have heard of yet but you will in the future.
“The bonus for me is the commute is only five minutes!”
Jarlath moved here from Ireland and has been a professional comic since he was 24, performing stand up across Ireland, the UK and the rest of the world, including the Edinburgh, Montreal, Chicago, Melbourne, New Zealand and Dubai Comedy Festivals.
After winning a place in the final of the BBC and Channel 4 new comedy awards, he appeared on TV as part of Dara O’Briain’s cult hit show The Panel, and has gone on to perform on Tonight At The Palladium, Russell Howard’s Good News, The World Stands Up and Last Comic Standing to name just a few.
The co-founders of Humdingers Comedy, Lee Wilson and Phil Hawksworth, also live in St Albans.
Previously staged in the beer garden of The Blacksmiths Arms pub and then indoors at The Crown in Hatfield Road, Humdingers has gone from strength to strength since its first ‘Comedy in the Yurt’ show in 2014.
After a series of sell out gigs, the organisers needed a bigger venue.
They are delighted by the support they have received since they moved to the Abbey Theatre last year.
Lee said: “We have been so lucky to have sold out every show we’ve put on in the last year.
“The acts have all been brilliant and it’s great to be able to give them a full room to show off what they can do.”
Phil added: “When you take a leap from the back room of a pub into a bigger venue like the Abbey Theatre, you never really know if it’s going to work but we’ve had our expectations surpassed at every show.”
Of their new home in the Abbey Theatre Studio in Holywell Hill, Lee said: “Being in a theatre means we’ve been able to bring in well-known comics to headline our shows and it felt only right to offer top billing to St Albans’ very own TV comic, Jarlath Regan.
“Phil and I saw him perform locally a few years ago and instantly became big fans.
“He’s perfect for our audience, not just because he is a resident but also because he’s genuinely very funny!”
Joining Jarlath on Thursday, February 28, will be a strong line-up of hand-picked acts, making this a special night out for all comedy lovers.
Phil: said: “Opening the show we are thrilled to have another favourite in Tom Ward, who really deserves his reputation as a unique performer.
“And completing the line-up we have two rising start, the hilariously angry Ryan Dalton and, in contrast, the charming, funny and incredibly polite Izzy Mant.
“We’re really looking forward to this one!”
The laughs start at 8pm.
Tickets are £10, plus £1 booking fee, from www.humdingerscomedy.com
Tickets are £12 on the night, subject to availability.
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