The Comedy Store Manchester held its regular Thursday stand up hosted by the talented Rob Rouse.
Opening the show was M.C. Rob Rouse who interacted with the audience warming everyone up for an evening of comedy with his stories of being married with two small children.
First up was Paul Thorne one of Britain's most established and sought after stand-ups. As well as performing at all the U.K.'s major comedy venues and festivals he can be seen weekly at London's Comedy Store performing topical material based on the weeks news. Paul quickly engage the audience with his tales of adverse weather, cultural exchange, Malaysian Airways and the Taliban. Rob's constant banter with the audience was hilarious as he eased his way through his act.
After the interval Rob Rouse welcomed everyone back for the second half of the show in his triple denim and again had the audience eating out of his hand with his stories. Rob introduced the next two comedians Tom Glover and Richard James from the West Country - both comedians entertained as they told their tales of living in a small town.
The final act of the evening was certainly 'saving the best until the last' - Noise Next Door a 5 guy troupe who performed amazing pieces from the audiences shout outs. Noise Next Door are the U.K.'s premier impro comedy troupe, and have taken the comedy world by storm. Noise Next Door leaves audiences in awe of their lightning quick wit. The troupe consists of Tom Houghton, Charlie Granville, Matt Grant, Tom Livingstone and Sam Pacelli and have been together since 2006. They take audience suggestions and transform them into fantastically funny scenes and songs in the blink of an eye.
The audience was clearly enchanted by these guys as they sang songs about "prostitutes cleaning windows for politicians- Donald's Windows" and the hilarious Boyband love song for 'Katie' with 2 kids and 1 on the way, who hates snakes, likes kickboxing and wants to go to Madagascar.
The evening ended on a high with these extremely talented guys, I would love to see these troupe again and would recommend anyone to go see them as they're completely unique and refreshing in the comedy scene.
The Comedy Store offers various packages for the evening of food and entertainment.
The choices are:
1) Restaurant dining in the lovely downstairs restaurant where you have a choice from the à la carte menu. You get a delicious two course meal and a ticket to the show complete with reserved seating.
2) Bar/informal dining in the spacious area where our table is reserved for you. The pre-show bar food package entitles you to a delicious dish from the bar menu which offers a selection of freshly cooked pizzas, home-made burgers, nachos, side and the chef specialities such as chicken tikka kebab, chilli con carne, Welsh rarebit pie, fish and chips, home-made steak and ale pie or roasted Mediterranean vegetables. Followed by reserved seating in the show.
3) Pizza – pre show pizza package includes a ticket to the show and a 12 inch pizza freshly baked in the pizza oven.
The staff at the Comedy Store enhance the experience as they are friendly and very welcoming. With the dining packages you are made to feel special and looked after as you are taken to your seats by the team - which is a lovely touch to the evening. The seats in the auditorium are extremely comfortable and specially designed to hold your drinks, the Comedy Store covers all bases in making your evening memorable. The audience are free to leave during the show for toilet breaks or drinks but are asked to keep this to a minimal whilst the acts are on stage.
All in all the Comedy Store is a fantastic venue to spend any evening in, the staff are fabulous, the food is delicious and the entertainment is outstanding. Nights like tonight make me feel very privileged to be a reviewer for this venue and to experience such a great package of entertainment.
The Comedy Store experience is worth every single penny spent - I can certainly guarantee you that.
Reviewer: Katie Leicester
Reviewed: 5th May 2016
