Comedy Night at St James Theatre (see BACKGROUND) had its exclusively Veterans Aid audience aching with laughter thanks to a line-up that left organisers in no doubt that they had delivered the goods.
The four acts who performed just for the charity sustained an evening of banter, laughter, good natured abuse and pure entertainment thanks to the generosity of the British Forces Foundation and the St James Theatre.
First Kane Brown, followed by The Raymond & Mr Timpkins Revue, John Maloney and Kev Orkian.
CEO Dr Hugh Milroy and charity staff joined the veterans in applause that said a lot more than ‘thanks for a great night out’. “This was something unprecedented, utterly beyond anything that has been done for us before,” reflected Dr Milroy after the event.
“Some of the guys couldn’t take in that it was just for them; a one-off event at a top theatre. Seeing the smiles on their faces and watching some of them collapse with laughter was a reward beyond price. Once again our thanks to Lady Lucy French, all at the St James Theatre and Mark Cann at the British Forces Foundation for making this happen.”
Some in the audience had been more familiar with the hard streets of Victoria than the comfortable seats of its theatres. Many could recall a time when they had had little or nothing to laugh about, but for one evening residents of VA’s New Belvedere House hostel, past and present put their bad memories behind them. Members of VA staff also attended the event.
Kane Brown is associated with fearless and bold comedy. The fast-paced comic enjoyed a lively exchange with VA audience members but gave as good as he got. He has performed at many the world-renowned comedy venues (Comedy Store, Comedy Café, Glee Club, Hackney Empire, Shepherds Bush Empire, Indigo O2) and has entertained troops in Afghanistan on two occasions with the BF, appearing alongside singer Katie Melua and Katherine Jenkins.
The Raymond & Mr Timpkins Revue are an uncle/nephew combo described by The Guardian as “A mad, anarchic triumph of stupidity over style. Not to be missed”.With TV interest and a radio murder mystery simmering in the pipeline Raymond and his sadistic though kindly uncle still find time to jet about the globe, entertaining her Majesty’s Forces.
John Maloney has been a professional comedian for over 20 years and headlines at major Comedy Clubs around the world, including the prestigious London Comedy Store. he’s twice won ‘Best Live Performer’ at The London Comedy Festival, and was nominated as ‘Best Live Stand-Up’ at The British Comedy Awards. He has supported numerous BFF shows for the troops including Northern Ireland,
Kev Orkian is one of the world’s most talented versatile entertainers. A highly skilled pianist, comedian, singer and actor, Kev has taken his one-man stand-up piano comedy show around the world, starred in numerous west end musicals and is regularly in demand on the corporate after dinner circuit. He has performed regularly for the BFF touring military bases around the world entertaining British and American forces.
