Top comedy club now open in Bristol  

Our review of Jongleurs will be only within the next few weeks as we look forward to seeing, Brendan Riley, Otiz Cannelloni, Paul Provenza, Brian Higgins. To wet your appitate Otiz Cannelloni, very kindly gave us a few minutes of his time to answer a few questions.

Otiz Cannelloni combines the illusion of magic and the logic of stand-up to produce a hybrid comic creation. With a mind more suited to testing crash helmets his performance fluctuates between sheer genius and downright stupidity. Just when you suspect he doesn't have a clue, he removes all doubt. When Cannelloni is on stage the dressing room empties, as the rest of the comics rush to watch and learn from his mistakes. It's taken years of practice to make something so simple look so difficult.

Depsite various television appearances, The Stand Up Show BBC1, Stuff the White Rabbit, BBC 2, producers are prepared to forgive and forget, mostly forget. Still there are always the cruise liners.

Nowt2Do: When did you realise you were funny?
Otiz Cannelloni: During the second World War, I opened for Bob Hope in the Pacific Theatre.  He said if I was funny he'd live to be a hundred.

N2D: When did you first start magic?
OC: At the end of  W.W. 2,  I performed a timeless magic cabinet routine.  I entered the box and re-emerged in 1954 in a theatre in Guy's Hospital.

N2D: What was your first gig like?
OC: I cried all the way through it.

N2D: How hard is it to make easy things look difficult?
OC: It's like falling off a carpet.

N2D: What's your biggest achievement to date?
OC: Twenty five marshmallows in one go.

N2D: What's it like being on the Jongleurs circuit?
OC: A bit like the Second World War.  Again the Americans got there late only this time we were ready for them - plenty of chewing gum and stockings.

N2D: If you've been to Bristol before what do you think of it?
OC: It's like a city with shops, people and traffic lights, surrounded by grass, railway tracks and what's left of the British Empire.

N2D: What is your favourite joke?
OC: Two nuns go into a pub.........no, I don't want to spoil the ending.

N2D: Who's your favourite magician and comedian?
OC: My fave magician is Nelson Mandela.  He makes David Blaine look like a twat-in-a-box.
OC: My fave comedian is Prince Philip.  I've always been a fan of slapstick.

N2D: Who do you look up to?
OC: Martin Johnson.

N2D: Who do you look down on?
OC: Jeanette Krankie.

N2D: Why should we see you?
OC: It's something to do with light falling on the back of the retina and electrical impulses going to the brain.

N2D: What is the highlight of your act?
OC: At the end of the act I swallow myself whole and regurgitate myself before the audience realises.  It's subliminal but I've spent years perfecting it.

So why not book now to see this comic master...he's making us laugh already!

Jongleurs, the largest comedy club in the world, is coming to Bristol, together with the Stone House, the UK’s most exciting new café bar.

The new £2.4 million club will open in Baldwin Street, on November 27, creating dozens of jobs.

As well as bringing the very best of the alternative comedy circuit to the city, it promises to provide an all-round entertainment experience.

People can have a drink and a meal in the club or in the Stone House, enjoy nearly two hours of top-class comedy, then take to the dance floor until 2am.

Jon Fish, Jongleurs brand manager, said: “Jongleurs has been hugely successful and we are sure there will be a real demand in Bristol. It’s a flourishing, happening city and we are bringing something very different to the entertainment scene.”

The first Jongleurs comedy club was opened in Battersea in 1983 by former drama teacher Maria Kempinska, who is still responsible for booking all the acts countrywide.

Stars who cut their teeth in the London club include Harry Enfield, Jo Brand, Paul Merton, Rory Bremner and Julian Clary.

Many stand-up comedians who are fast becoming household names, such as Paul Tonkinson and Gina Yashere, are all on the Jongleurs circuit.

The first Jongleurs club outside London opened in Leicester in 1997. Others followed in Southampton, Oxford, Nottingham, Watford, Portsmouth, Manchester, Cardiff, Glasgow, Birmingham, Leeds, Reading and Edinburgh.

Stone House, which will open on November 27, is the third brand in the Regent Inns’ stable. They also own the hugely successful Walkabout sports bars.

The first Stone House opened in Hertford last year and the second in London’s Hampton Hill, earlier this month (October). They are characterised by high quality menus and elegant interiors with an emphasis on natural materials.For more information see www.jongleurs.com or call 0870 787 0707.

For Adults Only

The ultimate venue for people who know exactly what they want from life is set to bring a whole new facet to the Bristol scene. 

The Stone House, which opens in Baldwin Street on November 27, will have a strictly 20-plus age policy and smart dress code – and its mantra will be ‘service, service, service’. 

The major new concept from leisure operator Regent Inns is aimed at sophisticated independent individuals who want to spend their free time relaxing, eating out or partying with like-minded people. 

Rebecca Dean, clubs and bars editor at Venue magazine and an expert on Bristol’s nightlife, welcomed the opening of the venue. She said:  “The arrival of the The Stone House, adds yet another string to the bow of Bristol’s thriving nightlife. This time it’s the turn of the more mature drinkers to get some well-deserved TLC in salubrious, exclusive surroundings.” 

The new £2.4 million venue, which includes the world-famous Jongleurs comedy club, is set to be the destination in Bristol – be it for a leisurely lunch, drinks after work, comedy, or a night of sheer fun on the dance floor. 

“The Stone House will be a teenage-free zone. It’s for people who know what they want out of life and expect the best and we will make sure they get that,” said brand development manager Kirsty Fonzari.

 “The emphasis will be on good quality right across the board, with a first-class menu, lots of New World wines and speciality shooters, cocktails and milkshakes.”

 The new food and drinks menu will certainly make even the most sophisticated bar fly sit up and take notice.

 From the Zipper Head to the Bit O’ Honey, the cocktails are set to become a talking point around the city, as will the innovative – and indulgent - new range of alcoholic milkshakes, which include Strawberries and Cream and Mad Monk.

 Music will be chilled-out during the day with an uplifting mix of pop, party, disco and commercial dance at night. There will be DJs from Thursdays to Sundays and live music ranging from jazz to funky vocal-led groups.

And in the day if you want to take your work with you, you can. There will be FREE internet connection, so from 10am you can take your laptop into The Stone House with you and enjoy a coffee while you work. 

Upstairs, Jongleurs, which next year celebrates its 21^st birthday, will be bringing the very best of the alternative comedy circuit to Bristol. The club, now the largest in the world, helped launch the careers of many of today’s top stand-ups, including Harry Enfield, Jo Brand and Julian Clary.

The Stone House was launched in Hertford at the end of last year (2002) with the second opening in London’s Hampton Hill last month (Oct). The Stone House in Bristol will be the first to be launched with a Jongleurs comedy club.

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