Comedy Interview: Cowards

By Londonist_ben Last edited 212 months ago
Comedy Interview: Cowards
cowards.JPG

We hope you've enjoyed these few comedy interviews and recommendations. This will be the last one for a while as this particular Londonista (and all the good comedians) relocates to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for August. But fear not, Londonist comedy coverage will resume with renewed vigour and comprehensiveness in September.

Cowards formed in October 2004, and following a sell out run at the 2005 Edinburgh Fringe, are returning to Edinburgh this summer. They also perform around London for the rest of the year, usually at the Hen and Chickens in Islington or the Canal Cafe Theatre in Little Venice. They are incredibly funny.

Introduce yourself!

I'm Lloyd Woolf and I'm part of COWARDS, a four-man sketch comedy group. We perform regularly around London and we're about to head off to the Edinburgh Fringe.

What are your favourite things about London?

Free newspapers on public transport. The look on a tourist's face when you're able to tell them which bus stop they need. Kebab shops that sell beer.

What are your least favourite things about London?

I'm not sure. I hate Melanie Sykes and she probably lives in London.

Best place to watch comedy in London?

I really like the Hen and Chickens in Islington- it's a good place to see really good comedians in a really small room. Which is pretty special.

What can we expect from your show?

Ah. That's a tricky one. I suppose you can expect some quite deadpan sketches about wide-eyed idiots. That's about the best way I can describe it. I suppose you have to come and see for yourself.

Without comedy you would be ..... ?

Richer, I suppose.

Your style of comedy seems to be very 'British', a) would you agree with that and b) does that alienate foreigners?

It is quite British, because a lot of the humour is basically observational. I don't think it alienates foreigners though- we've had Americans tell us they've loved the show. I think you're ok if you speak English, really.

What is the inspiration for your work?

Honestly? Bad comedy. Most comedians get more motivated by seeing bad comedy being recieved well than they do by anything else.

You all seem like nice boys. Are you nice boys?

Lovely. Absolutely lovely, to a man.

Is it true that all comics are miserable clowns crying behind their beaming faces?

Yes. But the same is true of most lawyers, doctors, teachers....

Which comedians/comic acts would you recommend to Londonist readers?

Um. Mark Watson, definitely. He's an excellent stand-up. Alex Horne is also definitely one to look out for. Justin Edwards is very funny. And if you can get a ticket, Daniel Kitson.

Why should people come and see the Cowards?

Do you want the sales pitch? I think we're genuinely different to any other act on the circuit. You won't feel like you've seen it before. But we're not arty or deliberately weird. We try to make our comedy as distinctive as possible.

This week, Cowards perform their final Edinburgh previews at the Canal Cafe Theatre, Little Venice on 26th and 27th July at 9.30pm.

Comedy tips this week -

Tonight 7:30pm. £5 (£3 concs) - Mark Watson and Richard Herring preview their Edinburgh shows, The Amersham Arms, New Cross.

Thursday 27th, 7pm, £3 - The OK club, an indie comedy night. Live comedy, music and djs with the theme, 'My favourite mixtape'. A very impressive line up featuring Robin Ince, Caroline Mabey, Matthew Crosby, Arnab Chanda, Joey Page, Bridget Christie & MC Josie Long, The Boogaloo, Highgate.

Last Updated 24 July 2006