·
Business & Culture
·

Red Nose Day comes to Cardiff: Chapel 1877 hosts stand-up comedy night

Local crowds were screaming with laughter, in a night of entertainment for Comic Relief.

Comedy fans in Cardiff were treated on Friday night, as four hilarious stand-up comedians performed at Chapel 1877, in a show raising money for the charity Comic Relief.

In the busy basement of the Churchill Way venue, the side-splitting antics of Col Howarth, James Dunn, Esyllt Sears and Drew Taylor made for a hilarious night of entertainment, supporting the fantastic cause.

The event, organised by Agi Grzegorzek, raised £324 in contribution to the national total of £63,548,668.

“I personally love stand up, and with tonight being for charity it works really well with a comedy night,” said Agi.

A riotous good-natured atmosphere helped to create the perfect opportunity for humour, as the comics interacted with members of the audience, improvising and working off their input.

“I think tonight was wonderful,” said stand-up comedian James Dunn. “It’s great to do something for charity and it was a really good feeling in the room, everyone was on board with it and that makes the night go better.”

Stand up comedians James Dunn & Col Howarth.

The MC for the evening, comedian Col Howarth, was delighted with the night and the other comics’ performances. “It’s the kind of gig you hope will happen and all the acts smashed it, so at the end when people are patting you on the back, shaking your hand and saying nice work we’ll come again, that’s a really nice thing.”

The event was further strengthened by a raffle with all gifts donated free of charge from a whole host of local businesses. This included an afternoon tea for two at Marco Pierre White, gift vouchers for Barber Threads, and a hamper box from Bills restaurant.

Headline act Drew Taylor performs his final joke.

Comic Relief began in 1985, as Richard Curtis and Jane Tewson came up with the idea of raising money, through comedy, to improve the lives of disadvantaged people in Africa and the UK. On Christmas Day, the charity was launched on BBC One from the Safawa refugee camp in Sudan.

The very first Red Nose Day was celebrated on 5th February 1988 as Lenny Henry hosted the telethon from Ethiopia. Over 150 celebrities took part, raising £15 million for charity.

Lenny Henry on the first Red Nose Day back in 1988.

Originally an annual event, Red Nose Day became biennial in 2002, alternating with the newly formed Sport Relief. Over the 30-year period, the two initiatives have raised over £1 billion for the charity.

This year saw the stars of Four Weddings and Funeral reprise their roles for a mini-sequel. Rowan Atkinson, Hugh Grant and Dame Kristen Scott Thomas featured, as the children of the original leads were married.

Another sketch saw Richard Madden, and Keeley Hawes return in their characters from the hit BBC show The Bodyguard, also featuring Joanna Lumley.

Both segments and all the best bits of this year’s charity show can be seen on BBCiPlayer.