Comedy news: Latitude comedy 2010: What to see beyond the comedy stage this weekend

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Rufus Hound looks like he could be auditioning for a role in the remake of Zulu, the whites of his eyes are easily seen as he emphasises to the next comedian due to take to the stage ‘Some of them have been there ALL day’.

It is summer 2008 and Hound is just over half-way through a compere set Latitude Festival. You can see his point. The comedy tent at Latitude festival could be called a second home for at least a weekend for the many comedy fans who flock to the Suffolk festival each year to see the latest comedy sets from some of the UK and the world’s best comedians.

This year is no exception. The comedy stage is set to host some of the most influential comedians in the world including Rich Hall, Emo Philips, Ardal O’Hanlon to name a few. However there is more to Latitude for the comedy lover than just the comedy stage.

With this in mind SSP has penned a guide to where to seek out comedy in the unlikely corners this Latitude weekend.

The Cabaret Arena

This year the Cabaret Arena has become the temporary home of a large proportion of the UK’s sketch groups, musical comedy and some fringe delights. For those who haven’t seen them yet, Frisky & Mannish are set to grace the stage on the Friday night while Ward and White’s Karaoke Circus is also worth a watch.

If you are keen to see a re-enactment of a rip in the space time continuum then head to see the Pros From Dover, who have managed to fine tune their skits to a ridiculously high degree.

Also on the Cabaret bill are one of the newest up-and-coming troupes Delete The Banjax, who have been tipped as one of the  have also been given a slot for the first time this year,

Theatre Arena

The comedy pick of the theatre tent has to be Daniel Kitson’s ‘It’s always right now, until it’s later’, while Kitson is also appearing at the waterfront stage for the duration of the festival with Gavin Osborn as they present Stories For The Starlit Sky.

Poetry Arena

The ever eccentric but beautifully composed Brigitte Aphrodite has been given a well-deserved spot on the Poetry stage this year. The comedy-cabaret act, Aphrodite is one of the most unique new acts to hit the circuit in the past two years. Well worth a watch.

Literary Arena

We have however saved the best until last, and that is the Literary tent. Run by Robin Ince, who seems to be capable of conducting more gigs than feasibly possible without an extra-dimension at his disposal, the literary tent is always due to produce a moment of pure comedic joy, whether it is crabs emerging from underneath the stage or Kevin Eldon recreating his poetic alter-ego Paul Hamilton, there will be some form of comedic genius employed at some point over the weekend.

Of particular interest in 2010 is the Mark Thomas community pub quiz, where the left-wing political heavyweight Thomas will be studiously testing the audience with a range of probing questions, (or at least we think) , The evening edition (which we assume is the better subbed version of the early edition) with Marcus Brigstocke & Andre Vincent.

Also on the bill this year is the Latitude debut for Leicester Comedy Festival winner Josh Widdicombe. who has continued his rise as one of the UK's best new acts with regular slots on Radio 4, well worth checking out. And we still haven't mentioned the masked balls in the woods. 

SSP will be reporting from the Latitude and updating the site regularly throughout the weekend, check back for the latest news, photo's and whatever else we find.