Like fried chicken or Walthamstow, comedy in pubs is cool again. The Glory’s new night Funny Peculiar is serving up a characteristically queer take, hosted by duchess of Canvey Island Diane Chorley in the pub’s discolicious basement. The grande dame of Kingsland Road Jonny Woo assisted Diane in welcoming a host of gay and alternative performers to the pub’s inaugural comedy showcase.
Diane Chorley, hot off her latest run at Soho Theatre compered the evening with her usual aplomb, eschewing her full band (‘The Buffet’) for just its lead guitarist, Milkybar Chris de Burgh, for an unplugged acoustic set. She regaled the stylish East London crowd with a tale of when Grace Jones nearly downed a Concorde flight, plus many a hearty musical interlude, all from the comfort of a vintage YSL jumpsuit.
First up was Catherine Bohart, Ireland’s premier bisexual comedienne, probably. Very upfront about her strict catholic upbringing in Dublin (is it possible to say ‘catholic upbringing’ without prefixing it with ‘strict’?), she had the audience on the floor when she suggested that when bisexuals go on a date they order everything on the menu because “we don’t see dishes, we just see food”.
“The Glory’s new night Funny Peculiar is serving up a characteristically queer take.”
New comedian to the scene Haydn Hades introduced us to a character that was part morose circus clown, part morbidly unwell northerner, with a hint of Jack Dee. He kept the audience on their toes, juggling awkward humour with darkly twee ukulele performances, all while wearing a bright green wig and red nose.
Between the stand-ups, Jonny Woo kept us thoroughly entertained. First up was perennial favourite, a lip-sync of At the End of the Day from Les Mis (the original, not Anne Hathaway’s overwrought whinging) where he plays all the parts. Despite personally having seen this once or twice before, it still had me floored. Like one of Diane Chorley’s vintage jumpsuits, Jonny Woo keeps getting better with age.
Finally, John Kearns performed his infamous brand of absurd, confusing humour. He was recently on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, where he made Susie Dent feel so uncomfortable in dictionary corner she placed one between them. He deserves the title of King of Non-Sequiturs after spinning a tall tale about an imaginary flatmate with an (also imaginary) tattoo of the 2012 olympic logo. You couldn’t make it up. Well, you could.
We had a fantastic time at the first Funny Peculiar. We can’t wait to laugh our way back down Kingsland Road for the next installment.
• Funny Peculiar is a new monthly comedy night at The Glory, 281 Kingsland Road, E2 8AS. For info on upcoming nights, go to theglory.co
