Back to basics for stand-up comics at the Slaughterhouse
Nov 14 2008 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post
Back to basics for stand-up comics
THE downstairs room of the Slaughterhouse pub on Fenwick Street in Liverpool city centre has long been regarded as a great place for a comedy club.
Its latest incarnation launches tonight courtesy of Liverpool actor and writer Neil Fitzmaurice.
“It just came about at the right time for me,” he says. “I hadn’t done stand up in seven years – I gave up because I was sick of the travelling.
“I’ve never run a comedy club before and this is a great room for comics, I know that from my own experience.
“You can see the audience’s faces, and I’m hoping for a really good atmosphere with regulars we can banter with.”
For the launch tonight and tomorrow Fitzmaurice – who will be the regular compere – decided on a Phoenix Nights reunion, fixing up the double headline act of Archie Kelly and Justin Moorhouse (Kenny Senior and Young Kenny in the show).
It was on the stand up circuit that Fitzmaurice met Peter Kay and Dave Spikey, and the writing partnership for the British sitcom classic was born.
It will be a traditional comedy club set up, says Neil, but there are already plans to take the Laughter House in a different direction from other venues.
“What we want to achieve is getting comics up to try new stuff. I’ll call my mates to do sneaky one-offs. There’s going to be a lot of surprises for people.
“I’m really excited, but there’s trepidation – the most important thing is people enjoy it.
“I think many comics will agree you don’t do it for the money, so coming to a venue like this, they like that it is back to basics, where you can see people laughing.”
This weekend he says fans will be welcome to bring Phoenix Nights and Peep Show DVDs to the club where the acts will be more than happy to sign.
Fitzmaurice made his return to stand up at the Royal Court earlier in the year as part of the Best of Liverpool night opening the city’s annual comedy festival – after starring in a successful run of Alan Bleasdale’s On the Ledge at the same venue.
“That gave me the confidence to go out and do this. If I’d died on my a--- I probably wouldn’t be doing this.
“It’s a struggle doing stand up to remain confident, but once you’re up there and get a couple of laughs, it’s fine.”
Aside from the comedy club, Kn owsley-based Fitzmaurice has a number of other projects in the pipeline, including series six of Peep Show, which will start filming early next year.
“I’m definitely involved in some way. I like doing Peep Show but I think (his character) Jeff’s been wasted over the last couple of series.”
Manchester-based BBC3 sketch show Scallywagga will return and his new sitcom Admin has been given the green light from Steve Coogan’s production company Baby Cow.
Perhaps closest of all to Fitzmaurice’s heart is the film Charlie Noades RIP, follow up to his 2000 success Going Off Big Time. The Liverpool comedy stars a raft of talent from the Phoenix Nights stable including Justin Moorhouse and Steve Edge and regional actors including John McArdle, Pauline Daniels and Mickey Finn.
After years of fundraising to finish the project, it is now finally in post production.
“We’re going to try and have a premiere in December,” he says.
“It’s taken seven years to get the money. Going Off Big Time was a success, but that still didn’t afford me anything.”
So what keeps Neil Fitzmaurice going when the odds are stacked against him?
“I’ve never had anything land in my lap,” he grins.
“But if I have any kind of discernible talent at all, it’s proving people wrong.”
THE Laughter House is open every Friday and Saturday with doors at 6pm and stand-up between 7.30pm to 9.30pm.
Tickets are £10 from Tongue in Cheek Comedy on 0151 728 9898 or www.tongueincheekcomedy.com.
LIKE comedy? Then visit Vicky’s comedy blog at www.comedyblog.merseyblogs.co.uk
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