Bob & Jim, Stephen E Blunder, Sanity Valve, Ukes not dead, Tim Ewins, Steven Jon Seller, Fair & Square, Matt Tiller, Cecilia Delatori, Ant Dewson

Ticket Link: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/149279

The Musical Comedy Awards is back! Now in it's fourth year, the MCA has grown in stature to become an annual fixture in the comedy calendar and the best place to see the UK's finest up and coming musical comedians alongside some of the best established acts of the genre on the circuit. Over the years the MCA have provided a launch pad to superstar acts like Frisky and Mannish (2009 Finalists), Abandoman (2010 winners) and Jay Foreman (Best Newcomer 2009 and now touring with Dave Gorman) and created a thriving independent platform to celebrate the artform that is musical comedy. The competition has also played host to stars of the genre such as Mitch Benn, David O' Doherty, Bo Burnham and many more.

So the fourth MCA begins! The top 40 musical comedy acts have been selected from musicalcomedyawards.com and will now battle it out in the heats through to the Final at the Bloomsbury Theatre on April 7th. Judges for this year's competition include Mark Boosey of British Comedy Guide, Tim Clark of Such Small Portions, Rupert Majendie of BBC Comedy, Lynne Parker of Funny Women, Kenny Cavey of Com Comedy and Jon Grant and Paul Weedon of Red 24 Management. We welcome back WeGotTickets as the sponsors of our Best Newcomer Category and are delighted to have them as our exclusive online vendor for all MCA shows.

For more information on the MCAs, sign up to the mailing list at musicalcomedyawards.com, follow us on Facebook @ Musical Comedy Awards or on Twitter @ musicalcomedyuk

THE MUSICALCOMEDY AWARDS: HEAT 1 WITH LORETTA MAINE

The Wilmington Players are the hottest new thing in improvised comedy, one of the only groups in the UK performing Chicago style long-form improv, every Sunday.

The Players (or 'Wilmops' if you will) take one audience suggestion and improvise an entire story around it, weaving in vignettes and a host of improvised characters that slip between scenes.

This is the beginning of an exciting new scene in the world of UK comedy. The Future is improvised...

£4 on the door

Doors 6.30pm (show starts 7pm)

THE WILMINGTON PLAYERS

A one off hour of first timer comedy stand ups trying out new material.

Dan Cook (Delete The Banjax) Doing his first ever solo stand up set!

Gareth Cooper (Delete The Banjax) has been doing sneaky gigs without telling anyone but this is his first official outing!

Tobi Wilson (Four Sad Faces) Fresh from BBC 7 radio series.

Joe Davies - Weird Country Boy!

Spencer Jones (Broken Biscuits/Big Babies) Hasn't done stand up for ages and is trying out brand new stuff.

Elliott Tiney - Funny man from sketch super group Idiots of Ants.

It's free to get in, it will last an hour, and no matter what happens you can say "I was there" when people talk about it in the future. Get your arses down there.

https://www.facebook.com/events/273345499385561/

COMEDY VIRGINS AND AWKARD NEWBIES

Following the success of The Office: The Opera (as seen on BBC Comic Relief 2009), comes a brand new operetta by Composer Anne Chmelewsky. “Through the Looking screen” is a one woman show starring Clare Presland (mezzo soprano), with Elizabeth Challenger on piano.

Meet Annabel Clark, a twenty seven year old Londoner obsessed with her colleague: Sebastian Smith. Disillusioned by dating mishaps and social awkwardness, Annabel is convinced that the only way for her to be united with her object of desire, is to approach Sebastian online. Empowered and armed with Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter, will Annabel ever get her man?

Doors open at 7.30pm. Performance starts at 8pm.

Tickets: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/146587

THROUGH THE LOOKING SCREEN

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Right, that’s that over with, now for the rock’n’roll. We’re kicking this year off in style with four fantastic acts from all over the South East of England. So, put on your new socks, squeeze back in to your skinny jeans and get the hell down to the Wil...mo. Oh and we’ve moved to 2nd Thursdays now so make sure you make a note in your brand new diaries!

Bobby Petrov

Here at Death & Glory we are huge supporters of very new artists and sometimes this throws up absolute gems. Bobby Petrov were one such gem when we first had them on as young pretenders but they are coming back to claim their throne as fully fledged alt-kings. These High Wycombe boys have produced a track in Tipi that is like Vampire Weekend with balls and in Ole Worm is like Everything Everything, Dutch Uncles and Bloc Party having a furiously paced jam in your kitchen. Basically we expect Bobby Petrov to explode on to the scene in 2012. Like a nail bomb but with half the nails replaced with jelly snakes. Just coz.

The Dead End

You know when you hear a band for the first time and within the first song you can hear about 12 of your favourite artists? Well, that’s the Dead End. When I first heard their track The World We Live In, I heard the strains of very early Feeder or Red Kross and then it moved in to the scratchy rawness of Ash with Jeff Buckley on vocals. Elements of latter day Arctic Monkeys are there and the swagger of the Libertines in their heyday. The influences are all good and the way that the Dead End mesh them together is equal parts beautiful and chaotic – just as new music should be!

Analogue Manilow

Regular Ravenous followers will be aware of the wondrous thing that is The B of the Bang. Well, Analogue Manilow are an off-shoot and, as side projects go, they are mighty fine. Rumoured to be the nephews of Mr Barry Manilow, this Portsmouth based trio play a brand of indie-grunge that has been forgotten by airwaves in recent years. We’re talking big riffs and plenty of crashy cymbals but with that oh-so-English trait of finely sculpted songwriting. This will be their first gig in London so come on down and make them feel welcome. Especially the drummer, who is called The Myth. Fact.

Canvey Island

Right, we know this chap was booked in a few months ago and had to cancel but we aren’t ones to hold grudges. Plus, we just really like him. Chris Farrance (for he is the afore mentioned Island) is one of those quiet types that you only ever hear about on the news after he’s killed someone. In actual fact, he’s not plotting a mass murder, he spends his time forming masterful, luscious, musical landscapes the build, one layer at a time, in to something of epic proportions. It’s a beautiful thing he does so you should get down early to make you catch him live. Especially as he may be a serial killer so his performances could be confined to prisons and psychiatric wards soon. Probably not though...

As always, we open at 8ish, first band on at 8.30ish and it’ll cost you just £4....no ish.

DEATH AND GLORY

Following the success of The Office: The Opera (as seen on BBC Comic Relief 2009), comes a brand new operetta by Composer Anne Chmelewsky. “Through the Looking screen” is a one woman show starring Clare Presland (mezzo soprano), with Elizabeth Challenger on piano.

Meet Annabel Clark, a twenty seven year old Londoner obsessed with her colleague: Sebastian Smith. Disillusioned by dating mishaps and social awkwardness, Annabel is convinced that the only way for her to be united with her object of desire, is to approach Sebastian online. Empowered and armed with Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter, will Annabel ever get her man?

Doors open at 7.30pm. Performance starts at 8pm.

Tickets: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/146587

THROUGH THE LOOKING SCREEN

Pubs cost a fortune, there's nothing good on and the music is terrible.

Not any more.