Comedy night going full ‘Steam’ ahead
A NEW free comedy night has launched at The Steam House pub and music venue in Sale, Greater Manchester.
Comedy for Sale was set up by local comedian Trevor Cunningham, 58, who has found time following early retirement to turn his hobby into a fortnightly event.
Launched in August, the night has met with popular reception, attracting comedians from all over the UK, including Bath, Birmingham and Harrogate.
After a hopeful tweet from Cunningham asking for a shout-out, comedian Russell Kane took some time out before the autumn leg of his UK tour to perform new material.
Kane, whose former glamour model turned make-up artist wife Lindsey is originally from Sale, took to the stage in the full-capacity room and was welcomed by a stunned audience.
Cunningham said: “The response from comedians who want to perform has been phenomenal.
“They’re coming from far and wide to do just a 10-minute spot.”
The comedy event has been so popular that the owner of The Steam House pub, Nick Heathcote is looking to host it more regularly at one of his other venues in Lyme.
While the night is open to all comedians- amateur or professional- many performers have done over 200 gigs and are looking to build up experience or test new material.
He said: “We’re fully booked with comedians until the end of the year.”
On the back of their luck with Russell Kane, Cunningham’s wife tweeted Johnny Vegas to encourage him to sign up.
Cunningham added: “It soon became clear that if a decent Manchester venue opened up an open mic night, the comics would come running, and they did.
“We will continue to seek out big names to test their material here.”
Originally from Oldham, Cunningham has lived in Sale with his wife for the past three years.
Before retiring, he worked as an engineer for 42 years but after being made redundant in January, he pursued his dreams and took a course at the Frog and Bucket comedy club, Manchester.
It was there that he met Dave Williams, MC at Comedy for Sale, and Mike Massey who helped him to launch the event.
Comedy for Sale takes place every first and third Thursday of the month and hosts an average of eight comedians per show. The event is free to attend and the next evening is on Thursday September 15, starting at 8pm.
