Pappy's | |
---|---|
Pseudonym | Pappy's Fun Club (2004-2009) |
Medium | Television, theatre, radio, podcasts |
Nationality | British |
Years active | 2004–present |
Genres | Sketch comedy |
Members | Ben Clark Matthew Crosby Tom Parry |
Former members | Brendan Dodds |
Website | pappyscomedy |
Pappy's, originally known as Pappy's Fun Club, is a British three-man comedy act, composed of comedians Ben Clark, Matthew Crosby and Tom Parry.[1] The sketch troupe previously performed shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, but now mostly talk on podcasts about balconies and spaghetti. They regularly produce podcasts under the Pappy's Flatshare heading,[2] and created and starred in the BBC Three sitcom Badults.[3]
History
[edit]Pappy's started out as a four-man comedy collective called "Pappy's Fun Club", consisting of Ben Clark, Matthew Crosby, Brendan Dodds, and Tom Parry.[4] The group met at the University of Kent and started out performing in Canterbury and Wolverhampton.[5] They later moved to London and in 2004, began performing regular shows in The Old Coffee House, in Soho, London. Pappy's Fun Club made their self-titled debut appearance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2006, as part of the Free Fringe.[6] In February 2007, the group was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Chortle Awards.[7]
In August 2007, the team returned to the Fringe with their second show, which received critical acclaim. It was performed at Just The Tonic, located in C Soco urban garden, Cowgate. Several top comedy critics praised it, with Dominic Maxwell describing the show as "extraordinarily fresh"[8] and Bruce Dessau praising their "instinctive rapport" and "the general air of merriment".[9] However, not all reviews were positive, with Brian Logan's review of a performance in Brighton stating that "little distinguishes these four youngsters from countless other all-male sketch troupes".[10] The show was nominated for the 2007 if.comedy award (formerly the Perrier Comedy Award, now the Edinburgh Comedy Awards).[11] They later won the 2008 Chortle Award for best sketch, variety or character act.[12]
In March 2008, the team performed their 2007 show at the Melbourne Comedy Festival.[13] Later that year, they returned to the Fringe with a new show, Funergy, performed at the Pleasance Cabaret Bar.[14]
In 2009, the group returned to the Fringe for a fourth consecutive year with a show called Pappy’s Fun Club’s World Record Attempt: 200 Sketches in an Hour. This show was performed in Pleasance One.[15] The show was universally praised, and received a five-star rating.[16]
In late 2009, Pappy's Fun Club announced that they were parting with one of their founding members, Brendan Dodds, and moving forward as a trio called Pappy's. The split was not entirely reciprocal, with Brendan writing on Twitter that he was asked to leave as "a business decision"[17] and Matthew stating in an interview that "the relationship we had with Brendan ran its course".[18]
In early 2010, Pappy's became the first British act to perform at the SF Sketchfest.[19] In August, they returned to the Fringe with a new show, All Business. Like the previous year, this show was performed in Pleasance One.[20] The following year, the troupe took a year off from the Fringe - however, Matthew returned with a solo show called AdventureParty.[21]
In 2012, Pappy's returned to the Fringe with a new show, Last Show Ever. This show received critical acclaim, receiving five-star reviews from The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Scotsman, The List, Chortle, and many others.[22] The show received a nomination for the 2012 Edinburgh Comedy Award.[23][24][25] Pappy's toured Last Show Ever around the UK in October and November, and in April 2013 performed it in a three-week run at the Soho Theatre.[26]
Pappy's continued to provide free audio and video during the pandemic via the medium of podcasts and in 2024 they entered a rich vein of form.
Podcasts
[edit]Pappy's currently produce three podcasts under the Pappy's Flatshare label:[2]
- Flatshare Slamdown is a live panel show set in their shared flat, with Matthew Crosby as the landlord and host.[27] In 2012 Flatshare Slamdown won the Loaded LAFTA award for Funniest Podcast.[28]
- Beef Brothers Cold Cuts is a longer form of the Beef Brothers round of Flatshare Slamdown, in which Pappy's and a guest comedian attempt to solve listeners' personal problems, or "beefs".
- House Meeting feature Pappy's having an unscripted chat; the format is a continuation of their former podcast Bangers and Mash, which was iTunes Top New Comedy Podcast in 2011.
Television and radio
[edit]On 15 November 2007, Pappy's Fun Club appeared on the BBC Three comedy programme, Comedy Shuffle.[29]
Pappy's (and Pappy's Fun Club) have made several pilots including a self-titled radio pilot for BBC Radio 4,[30] broadcast on 12 May 2008, a self-titled Comedy Lab for Channel 4 television, broadcast on 28 August 2008,[31] and a second Comedy Lab called Mr and Mrs Hotty Hott Hot Show, broadcast on 30 October 2011.[32] None of these pilots were commissioned for further development.
Pappy's most notable television showpiece is that of Badults which aired on BBC Three in 2013 and 2014,[3] starring themselves along with Emer Kenny, Katherine Ryan, Jack Docherty and Cariad Lloyd.
References
[edit]- ^ "BBC Three announce commission of new sitcom, The Secret Dude Society". BBC Media Centre. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
- ^ a b "Pappy's Flatshare on acast". acast. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- ^ a b "BBC Three - Badults". BBC. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- ^ Burgess, Marissa (22 July 2008). "Daddy fool - Pappy's Fun Club". The List. Edinburgh. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- ^ O'Hara, Mary (28 June 2012). "Hold onto your hat for a night of solo laughter..." Canterbury Times. Canterbury. Archived from the original on 5 July 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- ^ "FRINGE REVIEW: Pappy's Fun Club". The Void. 11 August 2008. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ^ "Chortle Awards nominations 2007". Chortle.co.uk. 5 February 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- ^ Maxwell, Dominic (21 August 2007). "Pappy's Fun Club". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 13 September 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- ^ Dessau, Bruce (23 August 2007). "A madcap hour of fun that could be award bound". London Evening Standard. London. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- ^ Logan, Brian (6 November 2007). "Pappy's Fun Club". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- ^ "Nominees and Winners". Edinburgh Comedy Award. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- ^ "Chortle Awards". Chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- ^ Slattery, Annette (11 March 2008). "Pappy's Fun Club". Australian Comedy Review. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ^ Hall, Julian (14 August 2008). "Pappy's Fun Club: Funergy, Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh". The Independent. London. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ^ Sulaiman, Yasmin (11 August 2009). "Sketch favourites achieve cohesion through chaos". The List. Edinburgh. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ^ Brady, Fern (23 August 2008). "Pappy's Fun Club's World Record Attempt: 200 Sketches in an Hour". Fest. Edinburgh. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- ^ "And then there were three..." Chortle.co.uk. 24 November 2009. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- ^ Nangle, Victoria (14 December 2007). "Interview with Matthew Crosby from Pappy's". latest 7. Brighton. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- ^ Bromley, Patrick (22 August 2012). "2010 SF Sketchfest - Full Schedule". About.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- ^ Monahan, Mark (24 October 2010). "Edinburgh Festival 2010: Pappy's, Pleasance One; Idiots of Ants, Pleasance Two". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- ^ Donaldson, Brian (8 August 2011). "A safe and hilarious haven for geeks and nerds". The List. Edinburgh. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- ^ "Pappy's: Last Show Ever". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ^ Mann, Andrea (23 August 2012). "Edinburgh Fringe: Awards Fever". The Huffington Post UK. London. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ^ Logan, Brian (22 August 2012). "Revealed: six acts in the running for 2012 Edinburgh comedy award". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ^ Monahan, Mark (22 August 2012). "Edinburgh Festival 2012: Foster's Comedy Awards - who is the funniest of them all?". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ^ "Pappy's: Last Show Ever". Soho Theatre. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- ^ "Pappy's Flatshare Slamdown". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
- ^ "Tim Vine wins funniest joke award at Loaded Laftas". BBC News. 9 February 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
- ^ "Comedy Shuffle: Series 2, Episode 1". BBC. 18 November 2007. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
- ^ "Happy Mondays: Pappy's Fun Club". BBC. 12 May 2008. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
- ^ "Pappy's Fun Club". British Comedy Guide. 12 May 2008. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
- ^ "Mr & Mrs Hotty Hott Hot Show". British Comedy Guide. 30 October 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2012.