Jeffries tops weekend of comedy

5:31pm Friday 15th February 2008

Another talented bunch of stand-ups descend on Wandsworth this weekend, you lucky, lucky people. Best of the bunch is the Comedy Carnival at the Clapham Grand and the Comedy Tree at Putney Walkabout, which share Jim Jeffries and Patrick Monahan (don't forget that a good stand-up will do two or three gigs a night at weekends.) Aussie Jeffries is a best headliner nominee in the 2008 Chortle awards and has had sold-out runs at the Eduinburgh and Montreal Festivals. While he isn't exactly going to "do a Lenny Bruce" and get thrown in jail for his opinions, Jeffries is one of the more controversial comics on the circuit, his 2006 The Second Coming show going down like a cup of sick with Christian Voice. And in Manchester a few years back one audience chap took exception to a put down, walked onstage and punched Jeffries in the face.

Monahan, meanwhile, is a refreshing breeze upon the air of cynicism and negativity that pervades most comic's material. That he does warm-up for Friday Night With Jonathan Ross and Channel 4's The IT Crowd show he's a a feel-good comedian.

He's not always the bridesmaid though, those puffy dresses don't suit him, and this Irish-Iranian has proved to be hugely popular on the London comedy club circuit. This may or may not be due to chortle.co.uk's assessment that Monahan "greets the audience the way a sex-starved spaniel would a trouser leg".

Over at Banana Cabaret in the Bedford pub, Terry Alderton and Alistair Barrie headline Friday and Saturday, while Jongleurs Battersea has portly cockney talent Andre Vincent at the top of the bill (think Phill Jupitus, just shorter).

Visit comedycarnival.co.uk or thecomedytree.com (both 020 7736 1446) for booking, bananacabaret.co.uk for the Bedford gigs in Balham.

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