Last week I took part in a new kind of comedy show created
by Comic Relief and Google+ from the comfort of my very own dining table!
The Hangout Comedy Club from Comic Relief is the world’s
first online club of its kind. Using the Google+ Hangout feature, it aims to
bring us the funniest comedians wherever we are, finely
selected from the pick of the Edinburgh Fringe festival.
After applying for front row seats (what was I letting
myself in for?!) I received a call from a lovely lady at Comic Relief who
confirmed that I was one of the lucky (or brave!) nine people who were chosen
to have a front row seat which meant that I would be able to interact and chat to
the comedian of the evening, Stephen Bailey. After a quick test to make sure
everything would run smoothly for the show, I was sent an email which included
all the details of the Hangout and a link to join it online later on.
Regularly warming up the audience at ITV’s Loose Women and Let’s Do Lunch with Gino and Mel, Stephen Bailey also won the Comedy Cafe New Act Competition last year and is currently receiving outstanding reviews for his Edinburgh
Fringe Festival show; Power Couple which depicts the two sides to every relationship
with his very own boyfriend Gary John Senior!
If a front row seat at a comedy club is not your idea of
fun, then you do have the option to apply for a back row seat which means you
can join the hangout anonymously, and instead watch and laugh as the show
ensues with as many friends as you like.
Before the show began and Stephen arrived, I was prompted to
make smiley and unhappy faces at my laptop so that a clever Comic Relief tool
called the Laughometer could accurately measure how amused I was going to be
during the show. After the show the Laughometer measures participants’ highs
and lows and suggests a proportionate donation for the viewer to give. This can be adjusted at the participant's discretion and whether you choose to donate or not is completely up to you - such a
feel good feature of this initiative!
At 8pm Stephen arrived and all nine of us ‘front-rowers’
introduced ourselves to him and asked a few questions which got us all laughing
together in no-time! I’ve used Hangouts before and it does take a short while
to get used to it as a new way of interacting, but if you are used to using
Skype and FaceTime it won’t take long before you get the hang of it!
I am really looking forward to the next line up of comedians
from Comic Relief and I think this initiative has the potential to be
absolutely amazing, what’s not to like, a laugh to change a life for a good
cause.
You can find out more about future Hangouts and watch past shows here.
Katie x