Hilarity Bites Comedy Club feat. Tez Ilyas, Masai Graham, and host Sully O’Sullivan

Show details:

Tez Ilyas

Host of Channel 4's The Tez O’Clock Show
BBC New Talent Hot List 2017
Chortle Best Breakthrough Act Nominee 2017

Tez Ilyas hit the ground running. In his first three years as a stand up, he found himself in no less than eight competition finals including the prestigious BBC New Comedy Award and Leicester Mercury New Comedian of the Year. In 2015, Tez achieved phenomenal success with his debut stand up hour TEZ Talks. A sell out run at the Soho Theatre and his own BBC Radio 4 series based on the show followed, with a second series released in 2018 and a third already commissioned.

In 2016, his highly anticipated follow up show, Made in Britain, went on to sell out every single performance (including extra shows) at the Edinburgh Fringe and gained spectacular critical acclaim, with a smash hit nationwide tour in 2017.

His third show, Teztify, once again delivered a spectacularly powerful, provocative and brilliantly funny hour of topical stand up, delivering to packed out audiences night after night, followed in 2018 by his second sell-out nationwide tour.

Tez is one of the stars of hit sitcom Man Like Mobeen (BBC Three) and has appeared on Live at the Apollo (BBC One), Mock the Week (BBC Two), The Last Leg (C4), Live From the BBC (BBC Two), Live from the Comedy Store (Comedy Central), Kevin Hart’s Live from Montreal (LOL Network), Virtually Famous (E4), The Now Show (BBC Radio 4) and made a brand new quiz show pilot for Vice.

“Tez Ilyas’s political stand-up is candyfloss with a razorblade inside: sweet and familiar at first, then shockingly, painfully sharp. It’s the kind of manoeuvre that takes serious talent to pull off” - ★★★★ - The Telegraph

“Ilyas has a slickness more reminiscent of US comics, and the gags to back it up, though his most prized asset could yet be his bold, subversive streak” - ★★★★ - The Guardian

“Radiantly entertaining” - ★★★★ - The Times

 

Masai Graham

Masai Graham is a multi award winning one-liner comedian who hails from the West Midlands.

The former Care worker turned comic has been writing and performing comedy for over a decade, winning accolades including ‘UK Pun Championship 2016, ‘Joke of the Fringe’ 2016 and 2022 (also bagging the unofficial lockdown Some-Bloke-Called-Dave Joke of the Fringe in 2021).

His comedy skills have seen him perform live from Singapore to Dublin. With 10 years of sell out shows at Edinburgh, Leicester and Brighton Fringes, and has led him to perform as tour support for Gary Delaney, Darren Harriott and Tez Ilyas as well as writing for TV shows.

Masai delivers genius one liners, puns and word play with his genuine charm and easy-flowing banter and with his reams of material from clean to naughty, he turns his razor-sharp joke writing skills to any subject.

“Annoyingly good gags and great stage presence” - Gary Delaney

“Audience admire the craftsmanship from this cheerful Black Country comic who skirts offence deftly” - Chortle

“The best ethnic comedian to emerge from the Black Country if you don’t include myself and Lenny Henry” - Darren Harriott

 

Sully O'Sullivan

Sully O'Sullivan has been declared a highlight of the New Zealand International Comedy Festival by The NZ Herald, a highlight of the Glasgow International Comedy Festival by The Scotsman, featured on Australian TV’s The Comedy Channel, hosted a sellout standup tour of Croatia, won Canada’s annual Improvaganza Tournament, and completed 2 UK national tours supporting cult Heavy Metal Comic Steve Hughes.

First stepping onto a standup stage in June 1998, Sully's talent gained instant recognition as he won his first national standup award less than 12 months later. 9 years on he’s featured in four seasons of New Zealand’s award winning TV standup showcase 'Pulp Comedy', been nominated for the NZ Comedy Industry's supreme award by the NZ Comedy Trust, and nominated by his fellow performers for the title of NZ's Best MC.

“Amazing” - NME

“A blast of hilarity” - Manchester Evening News

“A wicked sense of humour” - BBC

 

This show will also feature a newer act in the middle.

 

Note: Line-ups are subject to change in extreme, and unavoidable, circumstances.

Show may contain strong language and adult themes.

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Timings

Doors open: 7:30pm
Show starts: 8pm

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Buy tickets:

Tickets for this show can be bought online at www.bishopaucklandtownhall.org.uk, in person from Bishop Auckland Town Hall, or telephone 03000 269 524.