Homework at Bethnal Green Working Men's Club

Before anyone builds up a mental image of cockney miners drinking pints of bitter, let me set out a few facts. Whilst Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club at one point probably lived up to its name, those in charge now clearly don’t care for preserving history. Men in overalls and bingo nights have been replaced by perverse shows and barmen transvestites.

Self-described as a ‘literary cabaret’, Homework is one of the less racy nights held at BGWMC, making for an ideal, gentle midweek night out. Run by Aisle16, a collective of young poets, writers and comedians, the monthly night brings together a diverse selection of distractions. Inspired by the story-telling events held by The Moth in New York, this month saw the group sharing their tales of their ‘worst gig.’ Two hours of tragicomic anecdotes ensued, that would have given even the most angelic of souls a few pangs of schadenfreude.

Surely Salisbury’s funniest export since David Mitchell, Chris Hicks and his tale of the weekend he discovered his girlfriend was cheating on him, caught appendicitis and unintentionally revealed his ‘massive tattoo’ to his mother in hospital mixed hilarious misfortune with a macabre outlook, all to great effect. Tim Clare too deserves special mention. Anyone who can carve out an entire set based around the attempted assassination of Park Chung-Hee in 1974 is clearly a master of their art.

The surprise of the evening came from the headlining guest, Johann Hari, more famed for his tenacious journalism and television appearances than for his stand-up

The surprise of the evening came from the headlining guest, Johann Hari, more famed for his tenacious journalism and television appearances than for his stand-up. Nevertheless, it became apparent that his talents stretch beyond just hard-talk as he hilariously retold the story of his disastrous interview with the Dalai Lama. But the show was somewhat stolen by John Osborne who told the story of how he kindled a correspondence with kids’ TV and radio legend Pat Sharp. More entertaining though was the subsequent breakdown of said relationship, as John became a cult celebrity for his poem entitled “I Think Pat Sharp is Lonely.” Despite Pat’s parting plea for John to never read it publicly again, an ingenious ruse was still found to give the poem an airing (I strongly recommend having a google for this one, but the five minutes I spent on it yielded nothing. Ms. Sharp clearly employs an efficient team of lawyers.

Whilst not side-splittingly funny, the feel-good atmosphere of the night certainly made for a good chuckle, which combined with the unconventional décor of BGWMC, gives Homework something unique. With the relaxed manner of the performances and the set-up suited towards cabaret nights, the whole affair is a very comfortable and pleasantly informal one, with an entry fee that wouldn’t blow a hole in your pocket. Any thorough visit to London would not be complete without an evening at BGWMC, be it to Homework or another of the club’s plethora of events. And we work hard enough at Imperial, don’t we?

Monthly at BGWMC, www.aisle16.co.uk/homework-ldn/ for details