Somerset House has hosted fashion shows, ice rinks, open-air gigs and cinema in its Fountain Court, but never stand-up comedy, until now. This July, the courtyard plays host to five days of non-stop punchlines as Laughterama touches down for the first time, bringing seven shows and a stacked line-up of British comedy talents you’ll recognise from the telly.
Wednesday's opener sees Taskmaster champion Sam Campbell and chaos merchant Ross Noble share a bill with the BAFTA-nominated Bridget Christie. Meanwhile, Thursday belongs to Josh Widdicombe, fresh off dissecting other people's parenting on his podcast, alongside the brilliantly deadpan Rosie Jones. Dara Ó Briain and ventriloquist Nina Conti headline Friday, before a weekend of double-show days featuring basically everyone you’ve ever seen on a panel show in the last five years, including Sara Pascoe, Phil Wang, Fern Brady, Ania Magliano, Catherine Bohart, Tom Allen, Nick Mohammed, Ed Gamble and Tim Key.
Factor in a stop at the food and drink stalls dotted around the courtyard, because nothing pairs better with chuckles in the sunshine than an overpriced Aperol spritz.
‘Time Out’s Comedy editor Ben Williams asked me to write a poem that people could personalise for themselves, which I – as a poet – thought was an affront. I did it, though. I don’t think people will really enjoy it or think it’s that personal, and because of my struggles to personalise it, I feel the rhythm is a bit screwed. Add in the fact that Time Out has a big readership, and this is a disaster.’ Tim Key, 2014
Chris/Anne/Luther/Candice/a flamingo/someone else/I/Warren/your own name/Liz decided to gather some onions.
He/she/it/was fed up with his/her/its damn boss/pupils/workload/long thin legs/wife/situation.
She/it/I/the flamingo took a cab down to the fields and put on their onion gloves.
In front of Chris/Anne/this person/the flamingo/whoever/Annabel there was a gigantic field that rolled away between the hills and down towards the pea-green lake approximately 1.5 miles away.
Chris/Louise/Max/a Swedish guy/Sandra/a different flamingo/Keith/no one/you/me/it doesn’t matter/Diane waded into the onions.
It was raining.
The person/bird filled their bucket and the water soaked their jumper/feathers through.
Sodden and shivering, the flamingos/Chris and Anne/you/insert your name/Paul Scholes/Chris stood by their/his/its onion bucket and attempted to hail cabs.
They would not stop, though. All of the cabs drove right past you/_______ .
