I know, I know – we weren’t supposed to be back here yet. We literally said in our last Castle comedy review that we’d return in December.

But here’s what happened…

It snowed.

It frickin’ snowed.

AND we’d spent the day dealing with some of the most miserable people on this, our third rock from the sun. We needed a laugh. We needed a drink. And when we spun our comedy Rolodex (we absolutely do not own a comedy Rolodex) this popped up – top comedy in a cosy old-school pub, the cure to all ills.

We slipped in from the cold through the side door and were quickly greeted by the barman, who casually mentioned they’d just refreshed their gin selection (what exquisite timing). One double Mermaid later, we joined the steady stream of clown fans filling this most eclectic of comedy spaces.

One thing we didn’t anticipate was a change of MC, Keith Farnham has very much built this night, but fortunately it was a familiar face that took the helm… just not one that is familiar for comedy.

The stars were out and Finn from Hollyoaks had come to HotH! James Redmond took control of the gig as compère and offered up some great material about his life as a Z-lister that was super self-deprecating and very funny. Also, the man looks ridiculous for 53: seriously, he must have a portrait aging in the loft or something!

First up was Peter Flanagan, an Irish clown with a subtle Yankee twang from his time living in the States. He had some really good material – particularly the segment on ‘pre-lasagne’, which he used as way to illustrate the ludicrousness of night-out rituals on this side of the Pond. I thought I’d heard every version of the ‘English and Irish drink too much’ schtick, but I was very happy to be proved wrong. A cracking way to get started.

Number two on the bill was Kate Cheka, a clown with a frenetic delivery style and the potential for great storytelling, but also the first time I’ve seen someone blithely stereotype an entire audience, and decide out loud which of her jokes the crowd might ‘get’. Split the room clean in two.

After that, we definitely deserved a drink – and once again the “drink–act–drink–act–drink–act” rhythm worked its magic. Now all we needed was someone to pull the room back together.

Enter Russell Hicks.

Much like last time with Carl Donnelly, tonight’s headliner showed us that there are levels to this shit. His laid-back charm reset the atmosphere instantly. His opening monologue – packed with call-backs to earlier sets and the kind of pin-sharp improvisation he’s become known for – had the room genuinely filled with laughter.

He has some wonderful material about being an American trying to fit into to posh London suburbia, the visual explanation of how much of an advantage a gilet is for fisticuffs will live long in the memory, and I think that the delightful moment where a lady in the second row who heckled and then essentially pled the fifth to the question “what do you like to watch on television?” may even make an appearance in some later material.

And while we’ll plug Russell’s tour below, we cannot miss the chance for a Clownster first: you can also catch our clown in the actual cinema, appearing in Edgar Wright’s new adaptation of The Running Man. (That felt very cool to write.)

All in all this was another thoroughly enjoyable night of comedy… And I hadn’t even mentioned the free popcorn!

We urge you all to get out there and support your local comedy nights – because you never know when you’ll stumble upon a rose growing through concrete.

Clown Stars: * * * *

@The Castle, Harrow-On-The-Hill

Russell Hicks will be touring his new show ‘This Time It’s Personal’ from early next year, tickets available now. We’ll definitely try to get to it

And for those of you interested in visiting the Castle Comedy Club, shows are monthly with tickets available through Eventbrite