From The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy to Red Dwarf, the worlds of geekdom and comedy have had a long and happy association, and lately they seem to be closer than ever. In recent times we've had Dara O Briain doing maths on the telly, comics such as Robin Ince and Helen Keen educating us about science on the radio, and the likes of Toby Hadoke speaking about their nerdy passions at the Edinburgh Festival.
Continuing that grand tradition, February 10th sees the launch of The Geekatorium, a London-based comedy night promising a mixture of stand-up, sketches, live music and improvisation, with acts invited to come along and perform material on the subjects they're most passionate about, be that Star Wars or Sartre – no subject is off limits. “I wanted The Geekatorium to be a hub for really good and different comedy rather than just another of the barrage of stand-up shows available,” explains Paul Gannon, founder of The Geekatorium, “And I also wanted to give established acts somewhere to perform material they could never do on a Friday night in a club.”
It's an idea that is already attracting some exciting names – the February 10th show features guest spots from Richard Herring and Mark Dolan, with confirmed guests for future shows including Ray Peacock, Imran Yusuf, Tiernan Douieb and Doug Segal.
Each show, hosted by Gannon, will also feature a number of regular sections: experiments with science correspondent Brian Wecht, the unusual musical choices of DJ Mic A Lanious, a look at some of the more bizarre aspects of being a geek with comedian and regular Den of Geek contributor Pete Dillon-Trenchard, and some video sketches from a Boston sketch group responsible for the annual 'Geek Week' festival – which Paul hopes to bring to London.
“Geek Week is a very successful festival in Boston, and we had so much fun over there last year that I spoke to the organiser, Kevin Harrington, about putting together a UK version, with a week of geek-based comedy shows in and around London. It's still in the very early stages at the moment, but watch this space!”
The Geekatorium can be found at London's Leicester Square Theatre monthly from February 10th, with tickets costing £10. For more information and details on how to buy tickets, visit The Geekatorium website at www.geekatorium.net.