Ropery Hall News

Ian Smith

By Richard |


Ian Smith (as heard on BBC Radio 4’s The News Quiz. The Now Show. Just a Minute and co-hosting the Northern News podcast) presents a show about stress, love and driving a tank with your hairdresser. Three classic and timeless themes. After a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe, Ian Smith brings his critically acclaimed and multi-award nominated show on tour.

Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Show Nominee 2023

Next Up Biggest Award in Comedy Runner-up 2023

Chortle Award Best Show Nominee 2024

 ‘There are few shows as purely funny as this on the fringe’ ★★★★ Guardian

‘Sheer brilliance’ ★★★★.5 Chortle

‘One of our most consistent comedians – properly funny’ ★★★★ Fest

David Eagle: Flying Solo

By Richard |

David Eagle is a comedian and musician and member of three-time BBC Radio 2 folk award-winning band The Young ‘Uns.

In 2018 David branched out into stand-up comedy and was crowned New Comedian Of The Year at Nottingham Comedy Festival, Bath Comedy Festival and Leicester Square Theatre.

Come and enjoy his first full length touring show.

Recently he featured on BBC Radio 4/s flagship comedy ‘The Now Show’

David is blind, and his comedy often explores how his disability means the most ordinary, commonplace events are turned into surreal and convoluted dramas. Occasionally he dons his accordion (often as a spiteful repost to hecklers) and performs one of his comedy songs, such as his George Formby parody, described by the Guardian as “a comic tour de force.”

“David Eagle is a genuine stand up rookie phenomenon! Looking forward to hearing more.” Reginald D Hunter

“just seen the future of stand up comedy and his name is David Eagle” Boothby Graffoe

“constantly hilarious, gag on gag, leaving an audience gasping in admiration, and applause that goes on for minutes.” Bath Echo

John Shuttlewaorth

By Richard |

RAISE THE OOF 

WORK IN PROGRESS SHOW PRIOR TO UK TOUR

Radio 4 favourite, comedy legend, and ‘the 42nd best reason to love Britain’ (The Telegraph) JOHN SHUTTLEWORTH, is back with more hilarious stories and songs performed on his trusty Yamaha organ (with built-in auto accompaniment!) In RAISE THE OOF John celebrates 40 years in showbiz. Yes, it was 1985 when he met TV’s Clarinet Man – next door neighbour Ken Worthington who came last on New Faces in 73 (Tony Hatch crucified him!) 

“When I met Ken he was eating a CurlyWurly” recalls John, “although initially I thought it was a packet of sparklers, so I gave him a wide berth”, and the rest, as they say, is hysterical! 

“ Actually, I feel rather calm” muses John, “although after forty years and still no chart success, perhaps I should be slightly anxious. My wife Mary says I should get a proper job, but there’s not time – I’m about to retire! Besides, Comet – where I used to demonstrate audio equipment – no longer exists. As for the sweet factory in the Rotherham area where I worked as a security guard in the 1980’s – that’s now an Axe Throwing Centre. Oof!”

But I’m still posting off my songs (on cassette tape with Dolby so it’s not too hissy) to cutting edge pop acts like Chris Rea and the Lighthouse Family, plus I’m still being booked for nostalgic singalongs at the local hospice (for petrol money only) so we have every reason to celebrate my long and illustrious career. Do come along and join me in punching the air, and helping – in an orderly and controlled fashion – to RAISE THE OOF!

“His stand up is second to none, his timing is impeccable, and you can practically warm your hands on his good nature” The Guardian

“The Cole Porter of the antimacassar set”  The Times

“A Ludicrously compelling night out”  Evening Standard

“Sublime character comedy “ – The Guardian

“Totally unmissable”  – NME

John Shuttleworth

By Richard |

RAISE THE OOF 

WORK IN PROGRESS SHOW PRIOR TO UK TOUR

Radio 4 favourite, comedy legend, and ‘the 42nd best reason to love Britain’ (The Telegraph) JOHN SHUTTLEWORTH, is back with more hilarious stories and songs performed on his trusty Yamaha organ (with built-in auto accompaniment!) In RAISE THE OOF John celebrates 40 years in showbiz. Yes, it was 1985 when he met TV’s Clarinet Man – next door neighbour Ken Worthington who came last on New Faces in 73 (Tony Hatch crucified him!) 

“When I met Ken he was eating a CurlyWurly” recalls John, “although initially I thought it was a packet of sparklers, so I gave him a wide berth”, and the rest, as they say, is hysterical! 

“ Actually, I feel rather calm” muses John, “although after forty years and still no chart success, perhaps I should be slightly anxious. My wife Mary says I should get a proper job, but there’s not time – I’m about to retire! Besides, Comet – where I used to demonstrate audio equipment – no longer exists. As for the sweet factory in the Rotherham area where I worked as a security guard in the 1980’s – that’s now an Axe Throwing Centre. Oof!”

But I’m still posting off my songs (on cassette tape with Dolby so it’s not too hissy) to cutting edge pop acts like Chris Rea and the Lighthouse Family, plus I’m still being booked for nostalgic singalongs at the local hospice (for petrol money only) so we have every reason to celebrate my long and illustrious career. Do come along and join me in punching the air, and helping – in an orderly and controlled fashion – to RAISE THE OOF!

“His stand up is second to none, his timing is impeccable, and you can practically warm your hands on his good nature” The Guardian

“The Cole Porter of the antimacassar set”  The Times

“A Ludicrously compelling night out”  Evening Standard

“Sublime character comedy “ – The Guardian

“Totally unmissable”  – NME

Film Postponed – February 7

By Richard |

The scheduled film this Wedenesday evening, Women Talking has been postponed and will be shown at a later date. The afternoon screening of You’ve Got Mail will be shown as planned.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Lucy Porter

By Richard |

Lucy Porter – No Regrets!

The irrepressible Lucy Porter bounces back into action with a show all about regrets. Frank Sinatra had too few to mention, but Lucy’s got hundreds, and she’s prepared to go into graphic detail about all of them. Disastrous dates, professional calamities, ruined friendships and parenting fails. Lucy describes all the mistakes she’s made, works out why they happened, and ponders how her life would have turned out if she’d acted differently. 

Lucy looks at the things we might all collectively regret – not sticking to the work-life balance we strove for during lockdown, not realising that clapping for the NHS wouldn’t be enough to save it, allowing people we thought were quite fun on TV to become politicians. 

 How does regret tie in with guilt and shame? As a middle-aged, middle-class, left-leaning ex-Catholic, guilt is one of Lucy’s top five hobbies (along with going to the garden centre, doing jigsaws, making bread and watching subtitled foreign dramas on Netflix. She’s also ashamed of all these hobbies.)

It’s not all negative though. If you regret something, you can use it to change your ways: see the thing you regret as your rock bottom, and let it spur you on to become a better person. Lucy looks at how she can use shameful or annoying things from her past to change her future.

Lucy regrets volunteering at the school fete when her kids were younger, because now she’s committed to being the Hook a Duck Lady twice a year for the rest of her life. Maybe she could learn to say No a bit more? 

Impeccably punch-lined anecdotes… Genuinely delightful” ****
The Telegraph

A treat from start to finish” *****
The Herald

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