Barry Crimmins was a New York satirical comedian and political activist who was revered by many in his profession. he died of cancer earlier this year and this one-off charity gig was held to raise funds for his widow to help pay for her own cancer treatment.
Playing to sold out house in the Grand Hall, Robin Ince MCed and talked about his own memories of the man, and introduced a succession of top comedians doing ten minute slots. Mark Thomas, Angela Barnes, Chris Stokes, Sofie Hagen, Mark Watson, Scotland's Janey Godley, Alistair Barrie and, rounding it all off, Reginald D Hunter.
And if that wasn't quite enough there were a couple of even more special guests. After Hagen Ince brought on Helen Crimmins, Barry's widow, the undoubted highlight of the show. She gave a powerfully emotional speech about her husband, his work, his optimism and his message that we should never give up fighting the bad guys, before presenting very special gifts to Ince and Thomas. She was followed by multi talented musician and entertainer Amanda Palmer who delivered a hilarious anthem to the ukulele whilst playing the ukulele. Watson, well fuelled by rose, got a good five minutes of comedy out of the stress of having to follow 2 of the most powerful acts of the night!
An excellent show, an excellent cause, and a reminder that compassion, empathy and love remain powerful weapons in our society.
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