HOW has the first year gone, Al? What have you learnt, both in good and bad ways, from the first 12 months at the Black Swan Inn and what have been your highlights so far?

"We had a particular vision to showcase the kind of performers who we enjoy watching, but who might be less likely to get booked at some of the more mainstream professional comedy nights. So the most reassuring lesson we've learned is that there's an audience in York for the sort of comedy we want to showcase.

"One of the highlights of live comedy is that it’s one of the few mediums where magical things can take place that seem relevant and funny only in that moment. Unique 'had to be there' moments might include Phil Ellis trying to get from one side of the room to the other while being completely concealed by the curtains; Phil Kay trying to balance a plate of cat food on the microphone stand and Phil Jarvis walking through a door, while dressed as a door.

"It’s another sad truth of live comedy that sometimes these moments can lose something in the retelling. We’ve also learned that a disproportionate number of more 'alternative' comedians are called Phil."

York Press:

Burning Duck Comedy Club promoter Al Greaves

How do you assess the York comedy scene in 2015 and what distinguishes Burning Duck from other York comedy clubs?

"The York comedy scene presently seems healthy with a range of nights showcasing a breadth of comedy experiences, such as Dan Triscott’s intimate, free entry Duke's Comedy Night at the Duke Of York, showcasing newer acts, to Tom Taylor's Sitting Room at the Monk Bar Hotel and Toby Clouston-Jones's more established Hyena Lounge at The Duchess, offering opportunities to see more professional circuit comedians and tour shows.

"I think what distinguishes our nights is that they're perhaps more 'curated' and we're also less inclined to 'play it safe' with our bookings and we try to present other styles of comedy such as character, improv, sketch and musical comedy, as well as poetry and spoken word. This was exemplified by York’s own Rob Auton, whose Edinburgh Fringe show The Water Show was one of the highlights of our Woodsduck festival in the summer.

"When we started last year, two other new nights started at the same time but we're the only one that's still going and we'll continue to do so. To paraphrase Neil Young, 'Hey Hey, My My, The Burning Duck Comedy Club will never die'."

 

Who makes you laugh?

"Steve Martin. Ed Aczel. Adam Larter. Jayne Edwards. Ronnie Pickering."

What makes you laugh?

"It’s difficult to define, but there's something satisfying about watching comedy that feels ‘truthful’, even when it's also palpably absurd. The comedian Pat Cahill said in an interview in Fest Mag, 'the thing I like about any absurd stuff is you've got to see the pain and the reality of where it's come from. You know that there's some reason that bloke – or lady – has decided to put that on his head, or to move in that way,' he explains. 'It's that unsaid ‘there's something going on in there with him’. We're never going to know and we never really want to, we just have to see the end result'.

"My favourite act who I saw during the Great Yorkshire Fringe new act competition heats in York this summer was a ventriloquist act who performed a duet of Elton John and Kiki Dee’s Don’t Go Breaking My Heart with a monkey. Except the monkey kept forgetting the words. Hopefully we'll get to book him soon."

What doesn't make you laugh?

"I try to be open minded and not too prescriptive about the type of comedy I enjoy, though personally I get turned off by comedy which feels 'contrived' or is overly predicated on perpetuating lazy and inaccurate stereotypes. Or when comedians pretend to get angry about things that aren’t actually that bad and overcompensate for lazy writing by shouting.

"Alan Moore says that as a writer he 'traffics in fiction, but he does not traffic in lies' Comedians will always elaborate on the truth to try and make a story funnier, or shoehorn in a clever pun, but I think the comedy still has to be somehow 'believable'."

What does the future hold for Burning Duck?

"We'll continue our regular mixed bill shows every second Tuesday in the month with a professional headline act at the Black Swan. We'll also be looking to book more tour shows from our favourite acts and are presenting our first tour show from circuit regular Dan Nightingale on Monday, October 26, with support from one of our semi-regular MCs, the rising comedy star Amy Gledhill.

"We're also very interested in presenting more festivals, such as our inaugural Woodsduck Comedy Festival this summer. The best way to find out about future shows, as well as getting the chance to win two free tickets for upcoming shows, is to join our mailing list at our website, burningduckcomedy.com."

York Press:

Compere Dan Nightingale

How will you mark Burning Duck's first anniversary on October 13?

"What better way to celebrate than with Seymour Mace, our opening act at our first ever show. Seymour previewed his Edinburgh Fringe show, Niche As ****, at our Woodsduck festival, and it was then nominated for the best show at the 2015 Edinburgh Comedy Awards. Previous winners include Frank Skinner, Steve Coogan, Dylan Moran, Al Murray and Dan Kitson, so it’s kind of a big a deal, and we're delighted to invite him back.

"As it’s our birthday show, we'll also be presenting lots of our favourite acts – Tom Taylor, Sean Morley, Eleanor Mason, Nicola Mantallios and Sir Dickie Benson – as well as me, all of which will be introduced by Jack Gardner and Sam Handwich from Newcastle’s Silly Billies' Comedy Club!

"And it wouldn’t be a proper birthday without cake! Lots of cake, including Vegan Cake."

The Burning Duck Comedy Club Birthday Party, Black Swan Inn, Peasholme Green, York, October 13, 8pm. Tickets: £3 or £4 at burningduckcomedy.com or £5 on the door from 7.45pm.