(for those not in the know, PMSL stands for “pissing myself laughing.” sorry mom.)
When I was first contacted about an upcoming vegan comedy night in Leicester, I have to admit I had my reservations. Firstly, because I’m not really into comedy gigs that much and have been to a few that were awful. Secondly, as much as I love vegan-everything – could a vegan-only show really be that good? Well, in short, yes.
Viva Las Vegans is the brainchild of Matt Hoss who is a comedian in his own right, and, as you would guess, a vegan. Launched in 2017 in Kent, Matt’s idea originally was to create a novelty comedy night, however that concept didn’t last long; it quickly became something more. Viva Las Vegans is a fusion of Matt’s two passions, veganism and comedy. In Matt’s words, it became a very inclusive form of activism, where everyone and anyone was invited to attend an intimate comedy club to be unified by laughter and to show that vegans are normal and hilarious like everyone else.
The comedians are all vegan, but that doesn’t mean their jokes are solely vegan-themed (although there are a few sprinkled in which you’d expect). Instead, they put on their usual set while you get to enjoy some delicious vegan food and beer. But all are welcome, whether you are vegan, vegan-curious or a full-on carnivore dragged there by your vegan friends. The comedians also change from show to show – so you will see a new act each time depending on where the gig is held. Right, on to the event itself.
The Leicester event was a sell-out. It was held at the Criterion pub, a free house in the city centre that has been around since 2003 and is known for its real ale, continental beers and pizza. Oh, and what pizza it is. The Criterion is very vegan friendly, and on the night of the comedy they had two vegan pizzas on offer – one spicy veggie and one BBQ “chicken.” Andrew and I ordered one of each. The pizza base is always the most important factor in deciding whether a pizza is good (IMO), and these were perfection: thin, crispy, slightly charred. The toppings were also full of flavour and even had a generous amount of tasty vegan cheese. So, sufficiently satiated and beer in hand, we headed towards the stage.
Matt was the host for the evening, and he was fantastic. He was warm, charming and witty and had great banter with the audience. After warming up the crowd, Matt invited Ryan Dalton to the stage. Hailing from North London, Ryan started off with jokes about his height (he is VERY tall) and had the room in stitches from the get-go. His set ended with a half-finished joke about dog walking because we decided to riff this guy who went to the bathroom. Ryan did later upload the joke to Instagram and I can confirm it was worth the wait.
Next up was Kahn Johnson. Kahn was – by his own admission – quite ADD. However, he did have some very funny punchlines that had the room in fits. The final act of the evening was Kiri Pritchard-Mclean, star of Russell Howard’s Hour, winner of 2018’s Best Compere and Best Club comic Chortle awards, and Co-Host of All-Killa, No Filla.
Kiri was funny, sharp, witty in a completely irreverent way which I love – it’s just my kind of humour (apart from when she called me out for taking photos of her!). Her set this evening was very focused on… bedroom antics, shall we say. While it may not be for some, for me, and the rest of the audience it seems, it was hilarious.
So as you can see, both Andrew and I had a great night, especially considering we are not big comedy goers. Matt has done a great job setting up Viva Las Vegans, and I can’t wait to attend more shows in the future. If you are interested in attending one of the gigs, check out the Viva Las Vegans homepage for full tour info and to see if they’re coming to your city. You can also:
I didn’t know Kiri was vegan! That makes me love her even more!
Me neither 🙂 she was great!!