After a threat from his wife to do it properly or ‘give me a rest’, Richard Quigley initiated the open mic comedy at Quay Arts and now, eight months on, it’s going from strength to strength and still making the Island laugh.
The idea came about after island based comedians Richard Quigley and award-winning Hannah George decided to bring some fun to the island: ‘the existing Quay comedy night is excellent, but there was no chance for newer acts to perform’ said Richard, ‘the response to the Open Mic night has been excellent, with sell out crowds and some great new performers attracted.’
One of those is Scott Anderson who performed his first gig back in November at Open Mic ‘it was a bit scary, but Richard spent quite a bit of time with me beforehand going through some basics, so when I hit the stage I felt really confident and ready to go’.
The crowd loved Scott and he is now a regular feature, as is award winning comedian Hannah George with her hilarious take on relationships, family and the joys of working for a big bank.
‘The nights have gone better than expected’ added Mick Smith, Quay Arts Director and supporter of local acts ‘the crowds have been great, we’ve been sold out most of the time so it was definitely worth taking a chance. The performers have been great too, we’ve only had one guy freeze on stage and even he wanted to come back!’
The next Open Mic night is 20th June, if you would like to perform email Richard at quiggers(at)onwight.net
Image: Billaday
