Hullo.
I write & perform standup comedy, make radio programmes about classical music, take guided tours of the Royal Albert Hall, play the oboe, sing in a choir and live in a flat above a shop in Brook Green. I get tired easily and wonder why.
Facebook is more my tipple more than myspace, so join my group "The London Air-Accordion Society" and poke me over on the 'book if you want a quicker response... or email me on helen (dot) arney (at) gmail (dot) com.
DO YOU LIVE IN LONDON OR BRIGHTON?
* * THEN COME TO THE LONDON AIR-ACCORDION SOCIETY! * *
It's a gig I run on the last Monday of every month near Oxford Circus. For a fiver you get four of my favourite acts from the circuit plus my bumbling compering with songs and stories and the like. "What a lovely night that was!" is exactly what you will say afterwards. If you like saying that sort of thing on a Tuesday morning, then The London Air-Accordion Society is definitely for you.
Oh - and I'm doing a similar thing every Monday in May at the Brighton Fringe too. Yes, even the good people of East Sussex cannot escape the power of the Air-Accordion...
If you're looking for my next gig, here's what I'm doing in London and around the country soon:
:: 21-May :: LONDON :: Geek Night Out @ Camden Head, Camden Passage, Angel - FREE!
:: 25-May :: BRIGHTON FRINGE :: 14:45 :: THE LONDON AIR-ACCORDION SOCIETY (1hr) @ The Quadrant, North Street Quadrant - FREE SHOW! (MC)
:: 25-May :: THE LONDON AIR-ACCORDION SOCIETY @ Green Man, Riding House Street (nr Oxford Circus) :: with Marcel Lucont, Tom Goodliffe, Tom McDonnell, Hannah Warman and Richard Rycroft (MC)
:: 27-May :: LONDON :: Comedy at The Kirk @ The Selkirk, Tooting
:: 03-Jun :: LONDON :: West End Comedy @ Comedy Pub, Oxenden Street (MC)
:: 05-Jun :: LONDON :: Comedy Rocket @ Round Table, St Martin's Court
:: 18-Jun :: LONDON :: Downstairs @ The King's Head, Crouch End
:: 29-Jun :: THE LONDON AIR-ACCORDION SOCIETY @ Green Man, Riding House Street (nr Oxford Circus) :: with Tony Law, Tiernan Douieb, Alex Maple, Marty & The Doc and Rowena Haley (MC)
:: 30-Jun :: LONDON :: Falling Down with Laughter @ Belushi's, Borough High Street
:: 08-Jul :: LONDON :: Karaoke Circus @ 100 Club, playing with Martin White's Mystery Fax Machine Orchestra
:: 15-Jul :: LONDON :: Comedy Cafe @ Rivington Street
:: 17 to 19-Jul :: LATITUDE FESTIVAL :: Playing with Martin White's Mystery Fax Machine Orchestra
:: 22-Jul :: LONDON :: Preview of my Edinburgh show "8+1/2 Songs about Love (and other myths) @ Punch Tavern, Fleet Street - also Luke Toulson Edinburgh preview
:: 27-Jul :: THE LONDON AIR-ACCORDION SOCIETY @ Green Man, Riding House Street (nr Oxford Circus) :: with Terry Saunders, James Acaster, Catie Wilkins and George Ryegold (MC)
:: 6th to 31st AUGUST :: EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE ::
8+1/2 Songs about Love (and other myths)
My first baby solo show! With songs and stories and that sort of thing. It's a fiver. Come and see it, it'll make you feel alright.
Venue 53 - The Spaces @ Royal College of Surgeons, Nicolson Street (opposite the Festival Theatre)
7th to 29th August (not Sundays) at 6.10 (45 minutes)
ALSO: I'm in a family-friendly sketch show at the Underbelly every the afternoon!
"Sketch Show 4 Kids: Because I Said So" with Stan Stanley, Tiernan Douieb and Lauren Shearing. Aces.
So, what am I like, comedy-wise? I'm fairly new but people have been saying nice things: "Arney is an elfin, charming and captivating being... intelligently funny..." (BBC Club, Jan 08) and “Sweetly bookish Helen Arney is one of the latest passengers to board comedy’s crowded geek train; exchanging bold swagger for a more whimsical, unashamedly educated, lo-fi approach.†(Chortle, Nov 2008).
During 2008 I was one of 25 semi-finalists in the Funny Women competition, a semi-finalist in So You Think You're Funny and an Amused Moose Hot Starlet. I've also been doing a fair bit of compering for comedy clubs, and presenting music nights including album launches for turntable soul outfit Belleruche and experimental alt-folkers Sunday Driver.
Just in case you missed it HOMEWORK FOR HEROES was the free show I took to the Edinburgh Fringe 2008 with Tom Goodliffe, Broderick Chow and Nat Luurtsema. It was a crushingly lovely stand-up show celebrating tiny acts heroism that are often overlooked for some bloke pratting about in a leotard with big pants on the outside. Full of jokes, stories, games and a sprinkling of root-vegetable-based violence, we filled our 50-seater room every day and had a really fun month. Three Weeks said: "With an interesting theme, plenty of crowd interaction and, most importantly, a great attitude from the quartet, this is one of the better free shows at the Fringe." Plans are afoot for Edinburgh 2009, check back for more on those later...
Places I’ve gigged include: Spank!, Sunday Special at Up the Creek, Porthole Comedy Club, Ladyfest 2008, Sunday Night Adventure Club, Gipsy Hill Comedy Club, Happy Mondays at the Amersham Arms, Get Happy, EDComedy at The Hob, Anthology, Sit Down Sunday, Betseyality, Monkey Business, Laugh And A Half, Happy Thursday and Battle of the Bands for BBC Club, Brixton Comedy Club, Comedy Cafe, Frog and Bucket in Manchester, Bath House, Downstairs at the King’s Head, Funny How, student gigs at Canterbury Christchurch and UCL, and regular spots for Mirth Control, Amused Moose, Oi Oi Comedy, Laughing Cows and James Campbell's Comedy Club 4 Kids.
Not entirely exhausted by that list? You could email me on helen (dot) arney (at) gmail (dot) com about gigs and stuff. Or about anything, really: Obscure feats of Victorian engineering, Mongolian overtone singing, favourite dark chocolate covered biscuits, like, whatever. Go for it.
Tidy.
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