All Fools Comedy Profiles

BletchFest’s All Fools Comedy Night at Bletchingley Village Hall on Saturday 1st April has an exciting line up of performers headlined by Dominic Holland. All are seasoned comedians that will provide plenty of laughs. You’ll get to know and enjoy them or the night but here’s a little background to each of the performers.

Abigail Carter-Simpson

Abi’s performing career spans over a decade. From comedian to singer, actress to presenter; be it a comedy club, radio, live theatre, TV or on the big screen, she has consistently strived to entertain and make an audience feel at ease.

Abi trained at the Guildford School of Acting at 18 years old, gaining herself a BA (Hons) degree in Musical Theatre. She was named ‘One To Watch’ by The Stage after her graduation showcase in London. 

In her early twenties, Abi appeared in many off West-End productions and finally made her West End Debut in 2016 in a production which also took her on a Number 1 tour of the UK, to Hong Kong and to Singapore.

Her next venture was where Abi’s passion for comedy writing and performing began - ‘Newsrevue’ – the world’s longest running comedy shows which has an alumnus of the likes of Sarah Pasco, Alistair McGowan and Bill Bailey. Many of her songs and parodies have been featured in the show over the years and Newsrevue – EdFringe, a show that she was lucky enough to be a cast member of in 2017 performing at The Pleasance Beyond for the full run of August.

Abi was introduced fully to the stand up comedy world in 2018 and alongside her trusted ukulele for moral support, she hasn’t looked back. She has competed in many prolific competitions and has supported the likes of Simon Brodkin & Stephen K Amos.

Abi has appeared on BBC1, ITV2 and SKY 1, where she played Cassandra Laggatt-Brown in Agatha Raisin & The Deadly Dance – appearing alongside Ashley Jensen, Matt Horne and Adam Garcia. You can still view this on catch up TV!

Gerry K

Anecdotal, observational and refreshingly honest in style, Gerry K’s comedy is enriched by a somewhat unique perspective. Real name Gerry Kyei (pronounced “Chay”), Gerry was born in the East End, but grew up in rural Essex, as a rare black face in an almost totally white and very parochial area (a million miles away from the traditional Essex stereotype towns like Harlow, Basildon, Romford and Southend). In addition to providing some truly original insights into life in rural England, these early experiences have ensured Gerry’s comedy delights an incredible range of audiences often confounding expectations.

Starting in comedy as the result of a dare, his rise to headline act was a quick one, scooping a range of accolades along the way including; The Comedy Store’s ‘King Gong’, Metrolife Comedy Newcomer, and The Comedy Café’s Best Newcomer Awards.
As an actor he has appeared on The Bill and Angelo’s and recently enjoyed a cameo role on
Jimmy Carr’s Xmas DVD. As a presenter, he’s hosted the football forum with former England international and I’m A Celebrity bad boy Rodney Marsh and legendary Sky host Jeff Stelling for Zoo Magazine and has also guested on BBC Nottingham’s ‘The Breakfast Show’.

With his energetic and likeable personality, infectious joie de vivre and a beaming smile that
warms up the coldest of nights, Gerry K is a truly feelgood act.

Danny Ward (Compere)

Danny Ward's observational humour is up-beat and well honed, and his easy-going style both endearing and very funny. One of the new breed of comics with a high energy set not reliant on smut or swearing, Danny started comedy in late 2008 and has since established himself as comic to watch.

He is booked at clubs across the UK from University gigs to 300 capacity Arts Centres as tour support to many big name acts.  Danny has also performed to returning troops as part of the Decompression Tour in Cyprus for CSE.

Danny is also booked as a compere and hosted the Reading Comedy Festival New Act Competition finals twice, as well as London heats of the  So You Think You're Funny comedy competition and the Jongleurs Joke Box competitions. Edinburgh Festival  he has performed many great shows to critical acclaim: "If there is better stand up elsewhere for free then I want to know about it, because it really would have to be world class to top this show. Danny Ward's observational humour is brilliantly delivered ... This is top quality stand up that should have filled the venue twice over. I implore you to go and see it!" Three Weeks, 4 stars, Edinburgh Festival. "Danny Ward clicked with the capacity crowd immediately and his brilliantly-timed, slightly manic approach was bolstered by some really tight, strong material. His often hilarious riffs on everyday shopping at discount stores created a thread that worked brilliantly throughout, with a killer ending". Bournemouth Echo

Dominic Holland

Dominic Holland started doing stand-up comedy at The Comedy Café on London’s Rivington Street in 1991. Eddie Izzard briefly took care of him in 1993. During his first year at the Edinburgh Fringe, Holland’s one-man show won the Perrier Best Newcomer award and got good reviews.

In the autumn of 1993, Dominic went on a national tour with Eddie Izzard, going back to Edinburgh in1994. In 1996, he was up for a Perrier Award for what he did at the Edinburgh Festival appearing again at the Edinburgh Festival in 2006. In October 2012, he made his first stand-up DVD at Tring’s Court Theatre.

Dominic also made his first appearance on TV in 1993 on Central Television After Hours with Harry Hill. In 1998, he was the team captain for two seasons of Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment on Channel Five, which was hosted by Graham Norton.

In 1999 and 2000, he appeared twice on Have I Got News For You, They Think It’s All Over, and The Royal Variety Performance. Also, he is a regular panelist on the talk show The Wright Stuff, which airs in the afternoon.

Dominic also made his first appearance on Channel 4 in 1982 as a student in the movie P’tang, Yang, Kipperbang. In the 1998 movie The Young Person’s Guide to Becoming a Rock Star, he played the role of “Bob.” In 1999, he played “Cello Player” in Tube Tales.

Dominic has written a number of scripts and songs for a lot of other artists. Two of Holland’s graphic novels are Only in America and The Ripple Effect. In 2013, his third book, A Man’s Life, came out. Holland wrote the “Funny Money” column for The Guardian for two years. In January 2013, Dominic published Eclipsed the tale of how Hollywood star of Spiderman, Tom Holland, overshadowed his father.

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