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| Bar XS, home to XS Malarkey |
XS MALARKEY is one of the best loved comedy clubs in the country. Booked, promoted and compered by Toby, it runs every Tuesday at Bar XS, Fallowfield, Manchester. It started rather humbly in 1997 at a pub called Scruffy Murphys, where it would have stayed were it not for a greedy and witless area manager who prompted a move over the road to the mighty venue that is Bar XS. It has gone on to win (several times) Best Comedy Club at The North-West Comedy Awards and Best Comedy Club (North) at The Chortle Awards. Not bad for a humble little boozer which has competition from big guns like The Comedy Store and The Frog and Bucket. The club runs on a non profit making basis and isn’t particularly interested in entertaining drunk hen nights or Neanderthal office parties, so comics and audiences alike get to enjoy fine nights of comedy without being distracted by tedious cabals of halfwits soaked to their eyeballs in Diamond White or WKD.
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| Jimmy Carr |
Despite this lack of commercial nous, XS is an unprecedented success. In its early years you could have seen Peter Kay play there for a mere £1!!!! And latterly, the venue has hosted exclusive appearances from Mick Miller, Stewart Lee, Chris Addison, Dave Spikey, Jo Caulfield, Richard Herring and John Oliver, all for the ridiculously small entry fee of £2 (members) and £5 (non members). Life membership is available for £7 every Tuesday night before the show starts.
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| Alan Carr |
Toby comperes every week, which allows him to flex his inventive comedy muscles by improvising his way around the week’s events in front of an eager comedy throng. The club always has an untested, developing comic at the start of the show, as there are fewer and fewer opportunities for burgeoning comics to get quality stage time. Hence, Malarkey witnessed very early (an in some cases, the first ever) stage appearances of the likes of Alan Carr, Jason Manford and Justin Moorhouse, who all still play the club now despite hitting the big time. Comedians love the place, punters love the place, and it’s a true comedy phenomenon in a circuit dominated by huge corporate behemoths.
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Comedy legend Mick Miller
makes an exclusive XS
appearance, Toby’s very excited |
“Best bargain night out in Manchester . Five top comics for a laughable entry fee”
– The Guardian Guide To Manchester
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Malarkey Christmas parties
are now legendary |
“The best comedy club in the country is also one of the cheapest”
- BBCi
"The most accessible comedy night in Manchester ."
- The Metro
"An excellent line-up is part of the course at Malarkey."
- City Life (The journalist here clearly meant “par for the course” not “part of the course”, but has a limited grasp of the English language and this well known metaphor. Who’d have thunk it?)
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Josie Long, Stewart Lee, Lee Martin
and Toby Hadoke have all enjoyed a
splendid XS night |
"The funniest men to come out of the country for less than the price of a kebab."
- News North West
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Toby accepts the second XS Award
for Best Comedy Club at the North
West Comedy Awards – Johnny
Vegas presented it – Neil and Ros
are behind him and chuffed |
"This is comedy heaven – the audience is here to have fun rather than waste time making open mike spots uncomfortable. A rare treat.”
- Belinda Hanks, Manchester Evening News
"This thoroughly fine comedy club goes from strength to strength - and is still a bargain."
- Kevin Bourke, Manchester Evening News
"Situated in the heart of student-land, Malarkey has become the most enduring new comedy night to hit the city in the past couple of years. The dingy atmosphere is everything a comedy club should be, small, smoky and full of beer. Forget the clinical atmosphere of bigger venues, this is where comedy is at its very best. Promoter, compere and self-styled sex god Toby Hadoke has overseen the smooth running of Malarkey and he puts the night's success down to two basics -
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The Malarkey massive celebrate a
successful North West Comedy
Awards |
"We're cheap and friendly. Audiences like it because they get an evening of top live acts for a quid, and comedians like it because they always know it's going to be a friendly gig. At capacity, Murphy's can squeeze 150 people through its doors, with an even mix of students and locals, and the night's reputation has become so strong that it fills up early. Keep an eye on the listings because in the coming months we're promised a string of
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| Dave Spikey |
special events including Peter Kay, a special appearance by Canadian Stewart Francis and a fun filled Christmas special. With some comedy clubs hell bent on ripping off their customers and others full to the brim with nutters, why not get down to Malarkey?" - Daniel Brocklehurst (he now writes Shameless you know), City Life
You can find out more about the club at www.xsmalarkey.com |
