The Stand, one of Newcastle’s best comedy clubs, will be hosting a bizarrely exciting and topical comedy show on Monday 26th August.
‘The Best Show by Zoe’ is a stand-up comedy session by Nicola Mantalios, a North East-based comedian and online blogger. Mantalios is a regular fixture in the local comedy scene and is a frequent visitor to The Stand, regularly performing on their weekend shows.
The character, Zoe, was created in 2013 as a way for Nicola to “show pictures of my dogs indulgently and unashamedly to a crowd”. Zoe is eccentric but naïve – and is utterly obsessed with dogs. She is described as having “an air of innocence with a dark edge”, with the layers of her character developing with each performance.
Six years later, the character is still going strong and is now absolutely fierce, relentless and daring. She pushes what is socially acceptable with each and every interaction with the audience. Mantalios, through Zoe, allows the audience to be part of the creative narrative whilst reassuring them that she is ultimately in control.
Each ‘Best Show’ is around 45-90 minutes with a loose theme, plenty of props, games, challenges and stories. “If you haven’t gone home feeling ill from laughing so hard then it hasn’t been a best show”, Nicola states proudly.
Tickets, priced at £5.00 in advance, are available from thestand.co.uk.
