Last night’s (13/02) Comedy Cow Prime Cut at The Venue was unforgettable!
Rob Broderick (Abandoman) wowed with his witty musical magic and audience participation, James Redmond amused with dry, perfectly timed humour, Steve Bugeja shone as a personable and effortlessly funny MC, and Louie Green charmed the crowd with his everyman humour and crowd work
MC - Steve Bugeja
Steve Bugeja was our MC for the night and honestly, what a delightful chaos merchant. Effortlessly personable, he took to the stage chatting to random audience members like we were all at a slightly unhinged dinner party he was hosting.
“Talk to Frank” was an absolute gift for him – or maybe not – he had a real knack for taking the awkward and inappropriate audience moments and somehow turning them into something warm, funny and totally palatable, never shying away from the moment but not letting it tip into full-blown discomfort either.
A former BBC New Comedy Award winner who’s written for shows like Mock the Week and 8 Out of 10 Cats and co-created the sitcom Buffering, he’s clearly got the comedy pedigree, but delivers it with a really down-to-earth charm.
Sharp, quick and totally in control, he still carved out plenty of space for his own material, from the wonderfully relatable horror of “getting the ICK” to his apparent vendetta against surveyors. His relationship chat was gloriously neurotic too – the fear of finding “the love of your life” only to accidentally make… a crap baby, because having a baby is basically just manufacturing a future adult, he’s dreading creating “a plane-clapper” !
Absolutely the kind of warm, funny, capable host who makes you think, Yes… we’d 100% come back for the full Bugeja experience.
Louie Green
Louie Green is a Suffolk-based, proud working-class comedian who’s rapidly making waves on the UK comedy scene. Performing in some of the country’s biggest comedy clubs, Louie has a style that instantly makes you feel like he’s your mate.
A natural storyteller, his shows are full of clever, witty crowd work woven seamlessly into observational tales.
Louie’s comedy is a loveable mix of cheeky barrow-boy swagger and boy-next-door charm with a dry, droll delivery that makes his “likely lad” persona brilliantly likeable. His set touches on being a step-parent, navigating the school playground with all its sly social manoeuvring and figuring out his place in the family pecking order – somewhere below the dog.
Expect laugh-out-loud stories about colonoscopies with Dr Dynorod the joker, nostalgic riffs on “it was acceptable in the 90s,” and everyday relatable moments that hit with perfect timing.
Louie’s humour is strong and full of punchlines that leave audiences grinning from start to finish.
James Redmond
James Redmond – off the telly and now literally OFF the telly – remains a likeable and assured presence on stage. A TV heart-throb (former for some, still for others) with an easy charm, he brings the confidence of a performer who has clearly spent years in front of an audience.
His set had a relaxed, conversational feel, drawing on self-aware reflections about his own “sh!t level of fame”, well rehearsed Hollyoaks anecdotes and a very classic James Redmond routine on How To Wind Someone Up… with a New Phone Number.
There was also some genuine toilet humour about the dalliances with dating which received a somewhat mixed reaction from the room.
It wasn’t a set built on big punchlines or constant surprises, but rather on familiarity and personality. Redmond is a reliable act who keeps things ticking along comfortably and his natural stage presence makes him an agreeable watch. It would be interesting to see him explore fresher material – perhaps reflections on life after lockdown or newer chapters beyond his television past – as there’s clearly still an audience ready to go with him. A warm, steady performance that sat comfortably within the night’s line-up.
Rob Broderick
Rob Broderick – better known as Abandoman – is a full-throttle musical phenomenon: a one man beat factory, freestyle virtuoso and comedy trailblazer. A glorious cross between a chart-topping rap icon and an eccentric sitcom priest, he returned to The Comedy Cow to prove once again why he’s Ireland’s finest hip hop musical comic.
With his trademark mix of audience interaction and dazzling improvisation, he swept the crowd into a magical journey, transforming everyday likes, loathes, life, love and rule breaking into infectious hit songs and hilarious tales.
A former winner of Hackney Empire New Act of the Year and Best Comedy Newcomer at the Adelaide Fringe, he has headlined comedy stages at Glastonbury, Latitude, Reading and Leeds, performed in the house band for Alan Carr’s Happy Hour alongside Craig David, appeared in Dictionary Corner on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, and toured with pop giant Ed Sheeran.
Highlights saw him charmingly invite audience members on stage as long-lost bandmates to perform their Reunion Concert Song, Back in the Day. The entire room joined in instantly, swept up by cleverly crafted rhymes built from information the MC had gathered earlier.
Wearing a sample-pad necklace, he controlled beats and rhythms with practiced finesse, a living musical artwork sculpting sound in real time.
From the rebellious Rule Breaking rap and the ritual of toasting toast twice, to inspired verses about the prawn industry, kitchen micromanagement and a car parts Kinder Egg, his imagination never faltered. His rapport with the crowd was immediate, his joy utterly contagious. I think we actually all would have loved a stint on the stage with him.
Abandoman isn’t just a lyrical master, he’s a rhyme conjuror, a rhythm architect, a joyous force of nature, a supreme sound sorcerer… a phenomenal maestro conducting the crowd like his own mad orchestra. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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 Karen
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.
