Oh how I laughed! One night at Jongleurs and I’m still in some pain from laughing too hard.

Recently opened on Baldwin Street is Jongleurs, one of the biggest and most famous comedy club chains around, offering top name acts, a relaxed environment in which to watch the comedy, food, drink and dancing to us lucky Bristolians, we thought it was about time we went down to check it out.

Our evening’s entertainment came in the form of two acts, all linked together by chirpy scouse Brendan Riley, whose quick wit and improvisation blended perfectly with his well observed humour on everything from suicide bombers to mirrors, he managed to keep the audience going all night with his endless enthusiasm and energy! We were then treated to a new take on the classic end of the pier style act from Otiz Cannelloni, who brought his original yet traditional variety of joke telling, magic and comedy to the small stage. Since Peter Kay has made an ironic take on an old fashioned act popular the time is currently perfect for Otiz. He was great, and had the audience giggling away throughout. His act was old fashioned yet original, he maintained his character as he went through his strong set like a true pro. The perfect way to start the evening, he had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand.

Following him was Paul Provenza whose dry ironic tones were a mix between Jimmy Carr and Will Self. He was an intellectual comic at his best, a grumpy outlook mixed with some great observational comedy had the audience in raptures. The headline act was Scottish comedian Brian Higgins who stormed. He was fantastically funny, with some top class material, and interaction skills to be rivalled with.

The venue itself is great, intimate yet not intimidating. With moderately priced drinks and food, you can make a night out of it….yet I’d avoid the food if I were you. It wasn’t that great, it was ok….but just don’t expect restaurant quality!

The sight lines on the whole are fine, unless you are unlucky enough to be situated in one of the far corners (like us!) but fortunately there are plenty of screens on which you can watch the action. There is also the cheesy disco till 2am, which turns the place into a nightclub…making it cracking value for money.

Jongleurs is one of the best nights out you can have in Bristol, it’s fantastically funny, and won’t disappoint.

. 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!

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