Page 24 - 366091 LP246228 NE Volume Magazine (170mm x 245mm 52pp) September 2022

COMEDY
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GLENN MOORE
AT THE STAND, NEWCASTLE
If you’ve kept your finger on the pulse of Britain’s comedy circuit, the face of Glenn Moore will be familiar to you. The comic has been garnering a reputation over the years, picking up nominations for prestigious awards such as ‘Chortle Student Comedian of The Year’ or ‘Edinburgh Comedy Awards.’ With his presence becoming most established during his regular appearances on Mock The Week, Moore used the platform to showcase an electric wit and his brand of educated but aloof charm. Mixing erratic anecdotes of love, family and growing up with a penchant for wordplay and surrealism, each twist in the comedian's arsenal ensures the audience are kept giddily excited and entertained throughout his routines. A jokesmith in the truest sense of the word, Moore’s instantly accessible yet never predictable tsunami of snappy and acerbic one-liners see the comic moments away from being cited as a generational talent. ‘Will You Still Need Me, Will You Still Feed Me, Glenn I’m Sixty Moore’ arrives at Newcastle’s The Stand on Saturday 24th September. CAMERON WRIGHT
Ticket: £12.00 Advance | Visit: thestand.co.uk
PETE FIRMAN
AT MIDDLESBROUGH TOWN HALL
Middlesbrough Town Hall welcomes magician and comedian Pete Firman for a homecoming gig on Thursday 15th September. The Teessider has developed one of the UK’s most popular magic acts over the last decade and winds through his hometown for the much-anticipated date, with his ‘Bag Of Tricks’ show. The tradition of blending magic and stand-up comedy has a considerable, rich lineage, and much like the artform of stand-up itself, which represents an extremely broad church and still seemingly limitless potential for artists to tap into, the same is true of comedy magic in microcosm. Acts in the sphere range right across the spectrum, from the abrasive and transgressive to the family-friendly. Firman’s material is pitched much more towards the latter end of the scale, drawing significant acclaim for the ease with which he straddles the comedic and magical aspects of his act and the accomplished execution of his work, earning his spurs as a contemporary standard-bearer for the hybrid genre within the mainstream. Firman’s exposure and growing profile gained its traction from appearances on TV extravaganzas such as ‘Tonight At The London Palladium’ in 2017, as well as appearances on vehicles for fellow comics including Sarah Millican and John Bishop. He was a regular star of BBC’s ‘The Magicians’ in addition and has put in the hours on the road over the past 15 years, touring extensively in order to truly polish his craft. This seems particularly key for a tandem act such as Firman; while audiences are drawn to magic for its mystery and surrealism, a form so reliant on proof and results doesn’t lend itself comfortably to the experimental in the same way stand-up can. This provides an interesting counterbalance and interplay between the two segments, while, nonetheless, requiring the professionalism Firman has in spades. Even if magic acts cannot dabble in the leftfield to the same extent as
24 \\ NE VOLUME MAGAZINE \\ CULTURE
OMEDY