Joe Kent-Walters
Frankie Monroe, the impish proprietor of a working men’s club who has made a Faustian pact to keep his establishment open, is bound to be a breakout star at this year’s fringe. His creator, Joe Kent-Walters, grew up on a diet of The Mighty Boosh and Vic and Bob. He started out running an alternative comedy night in the basement of his Leeds student house. Frankie was inspired by regulars at the working men’s club where Kent-Walters grew up in Huddersfield: “These slightly ghoulish old men who love to trick you.” The show immerses us in Frankie’s “mad place”, as he stalks the stage, playing with the audience, and singing catchy tunes. It’s an absurd, exciting show that pays homage to end-of-the pier humour and laments the closure of northern clubs: “Against the odds, you want him to win.”
Monkey Barrel, 29 July–25 August
