Created in London by Phil Nicol, Old Rope is a stand up room where comedians are encouraged to use new material in a friendly atmosphere. This friendliness is somewhat thinly veiled as they are required to hold a rope suspended from the ceiling when they use any old gear, giving them little opportunity to get away with rehashing stuff. The fact that the rope has been fashioned into a noose only adds to the dread some performers may feel.
The show is usually hosted by Tiffany Stevenson but there are also guest hosts on various nights. Phil pokes his head in on occasion, engaging in some banter with Tiffany. Phil’s lunacy adds even more laughs to the show as they playfully insult one another like an old married couple with a lot more lewdness.
Sometimes there is a blurred line between ‘new’ material and ‘old rope’. The performers are clearly there to sell their individual shows so you expect them to include some this proven material. Perhaps it’s just a momentary lapse when they failed to touch the rope or they were trying to pull a swifty on us.
While stand up is the main focus of the show, occasionally a different type of act is slotted in to give the punters some variety. In one of the shows I saw, we witnessed the ukelele magic of Lady Carol whose banter was quite amusing although the song itself was rather sombre. It was a nice change of pace from the often very blokey comedians. Amongst my visits to the show I also saw demented magic of Ali Cook, insane verbal mime by Paul Foot, a very intoxicated Jason John Whitehead, the political humour of Nick Doody, the gentle observations of Dave Bloustein and a very wrong set by Lloyd Langford.
Being a late night show, audiences arrived after consuming a few beverages and were often in quite chatty moods. In particular on the Saturday night show there was a Buck’s night group, one of which was dressed as an Emu jockey, providing the source of plenty off the cuff jokes. This suited some comics in that they could spend time conversing with the crowd rather than trying some untested material that may have fallen flat. This also gave the performers a green light to venture into rather blue material which the punters lapped up. Everyone was in high spirits but not to the detriment of the show.
With an ever changing line up, Old Rope in the Courtyard is a brilliant way to wind up your busy festival day.
Visit the Fringe Website for booking details.