The show brings together two of The Independent's 'best sketch troupes' to see in the UK, with each act set to perform 45 minutes of the material which has propelled them to the forefront of the genre.
'An astonishing hit rate...stiletto sharp...everything is executed with verve...not sick, dark or fashionably twisted, just very, very funny...laugh?
For Lady Garden, the show sees them perform in front of their hometown crowd, with the all-female writers and performers based in Manchester throughout the year.
Similarly, Idiots of Ants have a northern feel to their act given that they boast members from locations such as Leeds and Scarborough, and both acts will have their audience in stitches with girls on tour, beatboxing funerals, bizarre revelations from World War II and the launch of the new Idiots of Ants computer game.
'Sketch democracy of the best sort' - Nadine McBay, The Metro (on Lady Garden)
Lady Garden were formed on the back of a sell-out, one-off gig for charity at The Comedy Store, Manchester in February 2008, with the six ladies that make up the group then taking an adapted version of the show up to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2008 for a critically-acclaimed month-long run.
Invitations to leading comedy festivals around the UK followed soon after, with Lady Garden performing at the Manchester Comedy Festival, Sheffield Comedy Festival and Brighton Festival Fringe amongst others, as well as on BBC Radio 4's Front Row and as part of BBC Comedy Presents.
'One of the funniest, clever & sexy new sketch groups around' - Tim Arthur, Time Out (on Lady Garden)
Lady Garden also reached the final of the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year 2009 and Laughing Horse New Act of the Year 2009 finals, secured a 12-month development deal with the BBC and made a critically-acclaimed return to the Edinburgh Fringe in August.
Likewise, Idiots of Ants have taken the comedy world by storm since their arrival in 2007, with two sell-out stints at the Edinburgh Fringe quickly seeing them invited to adapt their material for the small screen.
Their efforts were rewarded with a Best Comedy Show nomination in the Edinburgh Comedy Awards alongside Tim Key (the eventual winner), Tom Wrigglesworth and Russell Kane amongst others.
Other highlights of the last 12 months have been shooting their own television show for E4 as part of the Funny Cut season, appearances on BBC 1’s Comic Relief, Radio 4’s Loose Ends and BBC3’s The Wall, while their ‘Facebook in real life’ and ‘Wii Breakfast’ sketches are two of the most viewed comedy sketches of all time on YouTube.
'By half time they already had five stars...comedy Nirvana.' - Kate Copstick, The Scotsman (on Idiots of Ants)
Idiots of Ants sketches have been shown around the world on TV shows including The Today Show in the US and ChannelPlus in France. CNN recently even went as far as to suggest that President Obama could learn about social networking from their ‘Facebook in real life’ sketch and The Independent newspaper declared them to be one of the best sketch groups in the UK.
NOTES TO EDITORS
SHOW DETAILS
WHEN: 8pm, Tuesday 20th October
WHERE: The Comedy Store, Arches 3 and 4 Deansgate Locks, Whitworth Street West, Manchester, M1 5LH
TICKETS: £8 (£6), available from www.ticketmaster.co.uk
LADY GARDEN
Lady Garden are Hannah Dodd, Beattie Edmondson, Rose Johnson, Jessica Knappett, Eleanor Thom, Camille Ucan.
www.ladygardencomedy.com
IDIOTS OF ANTS
Idiots of Ants are Andrew Spiers, James Wrighton, Elliott Tiney and Benjamin Wilson
www.idiotsofants.com
PRESS
Images of Lady Garden and Idiots of Ants are available upon request. Press enquiries should be directed to Will Wood on 07817 014 515 or will.wood@multitudemedia.co.uk
