Review – Howlin’ Comedy Club, New Wimbledon Studio

The Whingers like a laugh.

Last Sunday saw them go from the sublime to the ridiculous with two nautically themed diversions: the brilliant and hilarious Aardman 3D movie The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists and episode one of Julian Fellowes’ Titanic which posits a radical new angle on the disaster by proving that the ship sank not because of an iceberg but due to to the excess number of servants on board.

Anyway, anxious to maintain our levity levels we trekked to Wimbledon for the first night of Howlin’ Comedy Club which will play at the New Wimbledon’s studio on the last Monday of each month.

The club’s first night featured an amiable Miles Crawford (host), Phil Butler (who eventually climaxed with some funny business with genuine children’s toys, turning them into rather adult toys in the process) and a cat-obsessed John Maloney. But it was after the interval that the Whingers’ raison de nous trouvons en banlieue took the stage: we have been banging on about Kev Orkian to anyone who cares to listen since we first saw him at the Edinburgh Fringe and he subsequently held his own against Dame Edna in Wimbledon’s recent panto Dick Whittington. Mr Orkian duly delivered a cracking set which got the Whingers’ feeling of well-being up to Prozac-Plus.

We can’t really rate it as each night will be different, but excitingly, next month’s club line-up includes none other than the Panto king himself Mr Eric Potts. Perhaps by then they will have gotten around to putting the apostrophe in the logo.