The February edition of the Comedy Cow Headliners night rained down on a full house at the Cock Hotel with Stella Graham as MC and Peter Brush, Tom Ratcliffe and Rob Coleman as a gentle shower of humour that brought warm smiles.
The headline act, Raymond and Mr Timpkins, brought double the chaos and double the laughs proving two heads are better than one.
Stella Graham - MC
Bold, witty and unapologetic, Stella Graham is a stand-up comedian, writer and actor who clearly puts everything into connecting with her audience. Unfortunately, for reasons hard to pin down, she just didn’t quite click with the Stony Stratford crowd on this occasion which was a shame, because she certainly gave it her all.
Her sets were undeniably delivered with real warmth and charm (as aptly noted by Nodding Dog Comedy).
Given her strong accolades, this felt more like one of those off nights rather than a reflection of her abilities.
We particularly enjoyed the “yellow sticker” chat and the memorable “Weapon of Mass Reduction” line – a phrase that will definitely stick with you on your next supermarket trip.
MC’ing is never easy and does depend heavily on having a connection with the audience. Stella has both the soul and the gumption and it would be great to see her full set in a room that truly meets her energy, because there’s clearly much more she can do.
Peter Brush
A true master of the mundane and of misdirection (thanks to Ben for the perfect word), Brush gives the impression of someone slightly overwhelmed just to be there. He chats and rambles as though the audience is almost incidental, a clever, disarming approach that quickly becomes very comfortable.
He never chases the laugh, instead, his timing quietly invites it.
Brush opens by warning the set might be “20 minutes of sh!t,” then amusingly circles that thought for several minutes cleverly building the room. The material wanders through life stories, the lies parents tell (and how they can come back to bite – or potentially poison them – as with Santa) and gas-scented air fresheners for an unwanted smoker in the house. There’s also a wonderfully awkward trip to a fortune teller about his sex life, with the palmistry results left hanging just long enough for the audience’s imaginations to do the work… work it out for yourselves.
There’s lovely wordplay throughout especially the image of 80-year-old sperm entering a womb and promptly forgetting what it went in there for.
Brush is subtle, imaginative and confident enough not to overplay the joke.
Alongside the headline act, he was the standout performer of the night.
Rob Coleman
Rob Coleman has spent over a decade touring the country, delivering a blend of beautifully crafted gags, true-life stories, and easy audience banter. He’s opened, closed, and middled in every kind of room imaginable and he now serves as the resident MC at Stamford Arts Centre.
As a self-proclaimed “Babe Magnet,” complete with his trademark big hair, Coleman took to the stage with tales of the trials of aging and his Mythical Me stories, which proved highly relatable. The set drew a gentle ripple of amusement from the room rather than big waves of laughter but there were still plenty of moments to enjoy. While this performance perhaps didn’t land quite as strongly as some of his previous outings, it remained an amiable and engaging turn and it’s possible the cold, gloomy weather tempered the energy on the night.
Tom Ratcliffe
Tom Ratcliffe is a Bedfordshire-born comedian and writer who is awkwardly trying to make sense of the world. Having performed alongside some of the UK’s top comedians, he was named West End New Act 2023: One to Watch.
He delivered a fine set built on observations, questionable logic and laughs. His dry style covers becoming a parent (or, as he frames it, entering into a continuous series of arguments) and the general tribulations of adult life. Highlights included an entertaining birth story and some neatly skewered thoughts on the “joys” of new-build homes – apparently constructed from MDF and lies.
A self-professed hypochondriac, Ratcliffe mines good material from Googling symptoms and quietly convincing himself he has them. It’s a quietly funny, neatly observed set delivered with an easy, genial charm.
Tom Ratcliffe
A velvet suit, a vibrant tank top and a pair of unapologetic gold lamé pants set the tone immediately, this was never going to be an ordinary set.
Together they unleash a gloriously surreal, high-energy brand of chaos that defies explanation and most known forms of dignity. For years they’ve delivered perfectly concentrated bursts of absurdity to audiences around the world and Milton Keynes was lucky enough to be in the blast radius.
With retirement now looming on the horizon, this felt like a rare treat and a genuine joy, witnessing them in full, ridiculous flight as tonight’s phenomenal headliners.
If you enjoy mine, music, silliness, middle-aged men dancing with reckless abandon and antics that hover just on the edge of unsavoury, you would have absolutely loved every minute.
What makes them special is the craft beneath the chaos. This is exquisitely constructed comedy, a masterclass in joyful slapstick and proper good old-fashioned fun. Yes, they are chaos personified, but don’t be fooled, the precision behind the mayhem is spectacularly precise. The musical and physical comedy is flawless, relentlessly energetic and packed with wordplay that will lodge itself in your brain for years to come.
Don’t be surprised if a casual mention of a box of chocolates or a quick trip to Lidl suddenly has you humming their tunes on repeat.
In short: complete brilliance.
Raymond & Mr Timpkins officially retire in April, so if you get the chance to see this astonishingly talented duo before they hang up the gold lamé, the dodgy bobble hat and that gloriously mischievous centre-stage playfulness, grab it with both hands. You won’t regret it.
Check out all the upcoming shows from The Comedy Cow at www.thecomedycow.co.uk and on all their social pages. There’s something for everyone in the dairy diary.
Reviewed by
I’m a proud MK resident of over 46 years watching it grow from a new town to a bustling business, social and cultural city.
I work in the NHS and enjoy an eclectic social life exploring everything Milton Keynes has in the diary.
