Interview: George Rigden

Stand-up, compere and promoter George Rigden has been a busy man these past three years, running and/or compering three Bristol comedy nights – Monday’s A Bunch of Japes at Smoke & Mirrors bar in the centre of town, the much-loved monthly Oppo Comedy sessions at the Portcullis pub in Clifton Village, and, since April, a new monthly session at the Robin Hood pub on St Michael’s Hill.

Here he is on Bristol’s uniquely fertile comedy scene.

How do your various nights compare – in terms of lineups, crowd, atmosphere?
OPPO has always had its own strong brand from when Mark Olver (Bristol’s king of comedy) set it up over a decade ago. In fact, it was one of the first gigs I went to – I saw Jon Richardson, Lloyd Langford and Olver for £2 and it was spectacular.
Smoke & Mirrors’ audience is discerning in its tastes, so I can take risks on acts who may be a little more left-of-centre. Four of my favourite acts (Mat Ewins, Jordan Brookes, Tom Burgess and The Death Hilarious) are semi-regular across both nights, and nothing brings me greater joy than to see brilliantly inventive, original acts like these.

Which of your nights would best suit the comedy newbie, or the seasoned stand-up observer?
I’d suggest Smoke & Mirrors to a newbie. It’s not like any other new material night in the city – you can see the biggest names in comedy alongside people doing their first-ever gigs, and the audiences are lovely. Some people have taken a punt on OPPO and not quite got it, but those who love it always come back for more.

Pick out a couple of forthcoming lineups you’re most excited by…
I’m very excited by our Smoke and Mirrors line up on October 24 featuring Tom Burgess and Sam Nicoresti are doing a double-header of headline character sets and they’re always good value. Tom in particular blew me away when I gigged with him in Manchester last year, and I immediately booked him to close smoke and mirrors the following month which he predictably smashed. I can’t wait to have him back.
At OPPO on October 30 we’ve got Steve Bugeja, who makes me howl with laughter every time I see him – a terrific writer with a very true sense of what his comedic voice is. His Edinburgh show last year remains one of the best things I’ve ever seen, so this will be a special one, and we’ve got Ed Night opening who’s one of my favourite up-and-coming acts – he’ll be a household name in three years.

Tell us about your own stand-up. Are you most at ease as compere or act?
I enjoy compering my gigs more than performing – the return audiences are delightful and fully buy into the mayhem and needless hostility of my act. I love performing my set in weekend clubs, but nothing compares to an audience properly getting you as a person. 

Bristol punches above its weight in a few art forms… is comedy one of them?
Absolutely! Bristol has always boasted an incredible comedy scene. My all-time hero Stephen Merchant, plus Russell Howard, Mark Watson, Jon Richardson, John Robins, Joel Dommett, Mark Olver, Wil Hodgson – the list, incredibly, goes on and they all did more or less the same gigs while starting out.
Yet when I started out three years ago, there were three regular open-mic gigs here, and if you wanted to gig more than once a fortnight you had to travel. Now there are about 10 regular nights, and opportunities to gig almost every night of the week. From brand new people with only a handful of gigs under their belts to more seasoned acts breaking into paid work, the future for Bristol comedy is very bright.

Give us some names to watch, then.
Keep an eye on Alex Mahoney, Jeremy Flynn, Ben Thurston (as Bob Wildlife), Tim Goodings and Chris Fay. All very different but all very, very funny.

And now you’re off to London… why?
I never wanted to leave Bristol – I was born here, raised here, went to uni here. It always baffled me why my heroes (Merchant, Howard etcetera) felt the need to leave, but the harsh reality is that London is where the industry is and comedy is all I’m programmed to do. But I will be back whenever I can, and in my absence Chris Fay and Alex Mahoney will be hosting Smoke & Mirrors – so make sure you head down every week. It’s only a fiver and we’ve got some immense headline acts booked in to see out the year.

A Bunch of Japes is every Monday night at Smoke & Mirrors bar. The next OPPO Comedy is at The Portcullis on Sunday October 30, featuring Steve Bugeja and others. For these and the rest of October’s comedy, visit b247.staging.proword.press/comedy

Read more: Stephen Merchant to present Crystal Maze