Move hopes to bring big laughs

THE comedy show which has brought big names like Bill Bailey, Arthur Smith and Ed Byrne to Tiverton has switched to a new venue for 2013 amid hopes stars will return to the town.

The Tiverton Community Art Theatre (TCAT), based within Tiverton High School, will host the town's popular Comedy Hall from February.

Following months of speculation about a possible move or the show leaving the town altogether, comedy promoter Steve Lodge has confirmed the departure from the New Hall, which had hosted an abundance of top name acts since the event's inception more than five years ago.

While demonstrating the growing confidence in the community theatre as Tiverton's foremost performance venue, the move is likely to be a setback for Tiverton Town Council which currently subsidises the loss-making New Hall.

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Julian Morgan, chairman of TCAT, said: "The increasing popularity of Comedy Hall together with a growing awareness of TCAT, Tiverton's newest and largest performance venue, means that together we can accommodate bigger audiences and higher-profile acts in our well-equipped theatre.

"With great plays, music, dance and now comedy, TCAT is proud to be offering an amazing variety of entertainment."

Steve Lodge, who has committed to running 11 monthly shows at the school venue, said: "TCAT has a great room and will give us much more scope in bringing top acts to Devon.

"Firstly it offers much more capacity with 300 seats, as well as a state of the art sound and light system which has had considerable investment. But above all TCAT has a thirst to bring the arts to Mid Devon, as this is really important for us. We can work together to promote comedy and bring different and exciting acts to the region, running more effective promotions and working together to promote live entertainment."

Mr Lodge said Tiverton would be hosting the finals of a major new act competition, the Last Minute Comedy Newcomer Awards, in May, and said more established names were also in the pipeline.

"We are talking to some major names in comedy who have expressed an interest in coming down to Devon this year," he said. "This is a very exciting time for us."

The first Comedy Hall show will be on February 4, with a line-up yet to be confirmed.

Alistair McGowan has also been booked to play on March 24. The Nation's favourite impressionist goes back to his stand-up roots for a new two-hour show.

For more information and ticket details visit: www.comedyhall.co.uk