The finalists in the 15th Beat the Frog World Series have been revealed.
The evening will showcase the best of all the new acts who have come through its doors at the Beat the Frog Monday night amateur show across the past year. The final takes place on Monday, 29thOctober at the Frog and Bucket in Manchester and the line-up is as follows.
Liverpudlian Sian Davies who took a working class comedy show to the Edinburgh Fringe this year.
The deadpan Mamoun Elagab who was a finalist in the BBC Comedy Award this year,
Half English, half Venezuelan James Heath who grew up in Venezuela but has lived in Manchester since 2000. He’s been performing stand up since February this year.
Chloe Levi Joyce works behind the bar at the Frog and Bucket and is in her third year of a comedy degree at Salford University. She won Beat the Frog on her first ever gig.
Michael Mannion lives and works in Manchester as an editor and has only been performing stand up since February this year.
Romanian comedian Victor Patrascan who performed a solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe this year.
Hailing from Heywood just north of Manchester, in the daytime Ben Silver works in a pathology lab.
Anna Spark is an Australian comic who is currently resident in Manchester.
From Newcastle, Louise Young is currently an office worker but has been doing comedy for three years.
Plus there will be a special performance from last year’s winner, the deliciously dark Kathryn Mather, and the compere will be the highly acclaimed Dan Nightingale.
The gong style Beat the Frog night was introduced at the club in 2003. Acts fight to stay on stage for the full five minutes but audience members have been issued with three dreaded cards, if all three go up during the act’s set the Frog sounds his croak and it’s better luck next time for the act. It sounds harsh but a supportive atmosphere is encouraged by the compere. That said though if you’re not funny, you’re off! The overall winner on the night is decided by a ‘clap off’.
Prior to Beat the Frog every Monday was the legendary Raw night. Famously it was where John Bishop performed his first ever stand up gig. He rocked up to the club with no expectations, at the time estranged from his wife and living away from his family, and received a glimpse of where his future may lay. He got back together with his wife too, which is a bonus.
As Bishop noted about the night: “I got into comedy completely by accident. When I went along to The Frog and Bucket for an open mic show, I only meant to watch… I’d never been on a stage before and I was shocked by how bright the lights were. I couldn’t see anyone. And I only had one joke… At least four of them chuckled. That first laugh, it’s like losing your virginity – it’s not perfect and you know you’ll get better but you’re completely bitten by the bug.”
Jack Whitehall also crafted his early stand up routines at the club and has been known to pop back to test out material for arena shows. Sarah Millican also cut her comedy teeth at the club.
The previous winners of the Beat the Frog have all gone on to notable things and who knows which ones will be a telly name before long? 2010 winner Brennan Reece was nominated for best newcomer Edinburgh Comedy Award two years ago at the Fringe, Sam Gore won in 2008 and has since gigged all over the country as well as creating the successful I See You blog series and World Series victor in 2007 Carl Hutchinson tours a solo show each year. Meanwhile former champs Rob Mulholland, Jay Hampson, Vince Atta, Pete Otway, Tom Goodliffe, Benji Waterstones, Penella Mellor and Donal Vaughan are all successful comedians gigging all over the country and, in some cases, the world.
Buy tickets here.
