Rob Deering’s Beat This! Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh, 2014
Loving Linda Smith Gala Concert In Aid of Target Ovarian Cancer: Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, 2015
Always Be Comedy: The Exhibit, Balham, London, 2016
Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2016
Angela Barnes: Fortitude: Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, 2017
RCN Foundation NHS Nurses Fundraiser: Up The Creek, Greenwich, London, 2017
99 Club Comedy: Ruby Blue, Leicester Square, London, 2018
The Off The Kerb Showcase: The Comedy Store, London, 2018
Edinburgh Fringe preview: Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2018
Angela Barnes: Rose Tinted: Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, 2018
Headliner’s Comedy 17th Birthday: George IV pub, Chiswick, London, 2019
Always Be Comedy Online: Online (2 shows): 2020
Leicester Comedy Festival: Happy Hour Q & A Interview with Angela Barnes: Online: 2021
Return of The Craic Online Comedy Club: Online: 2021
Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2022
Stand Up for Jeremy Hardy: Hammersmith Apollo, London, 2022
Headliners Comedy Club: George IV pub, Chiswick, London, 2022
Angela Barnes: Hot Mess: Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, 2022
Angela Barnes is a wonderful comedian who I have seen many times over the years.
I first became aware of her at the Edinburgh Festival appearing as a guest on Rob Deering’s Beat This quiz show in 2014 and doing a twenty-minute set at a charity gala in 2015. I then saw her guesting at Always Be Comedy in London in 2016 where she really came into her own.
Barnes is a superb down-to-earth straight talking and extremely funny comic. The straight-forward approached worked very well with the Always Be Comedy crowd who took to her instantly and she was very popular.
When I saw her again at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017 doing her own full show Fortitude and then once more making a guest spot at the RCN Foundation Nurses Fundraiser at Up The Creek in London also in 2017. Both times, she delivered a world-weary and devastatingly matter-of-fact outlook on the world that really made her stand out.
In March 2018, I saw her play the 99 Club Comedy in Leicester Square, then I saw her compere the first half of The Off The Kerb Showcase at The Comedy Store in April and most recently I saw her new Edinburgh Fringe preview show at Always Be Comedy in July. In August 2018, I saw her solo show Rose Tinted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The pace is always fast with Barnes and at each performance the material was strong, and the delivery was perfect. At the Edinburgh preview and full Fringe show, Barnes delivered well-constructed jokes on subjects such as exercise, relationships and modern living making for an extremely funny hour delivered with her trademark no nonsense banter. In 2019, she played Headliners Comedy Club in London for their 17th birthday. Once again Barnes did not disappoint with her angst and hilarious view on the world.
In July and December 2020, Barnes was a guest for Always Be Comedy Online where she described her experiences of lock-down which included an unfortunate accident where she ended up in A & E. Barnes is such a great comedian that she can make tragic turn comic in her description, and she delighted the crowd with her energy and wit. When she appeared in December 2020, she admitted that she was poorly with a cold but was still hilarious. There was an admirable honesty in her thoughts and the punchlines to the stories were always very funny.
I watched an interview with Angela Barnes for the Leicester Comedy Festival which took place online because of the Coronavirus epidemic in February 2021. Barnes talked to founding director Geoff Rowe about her comedy career and her highlights and views on the future of live comedy.
The comic appeared as a guest for Return of The Craic Online Comedy Club that I watched in April 2021. She very wittily described her upcoming wedding plans and coping in lockdown with her other half. The routine was full of great jokes, wordplay, and stories.
The comedian made a triumphant return to live stand-up by headlining Always Be Comedy, appearing at the Stand Up for Jeremy Hardy memorial concert at the Hammersmith Apollo both in January 2022 and for Headliners Comedy Club in March 2022. Talking about her new marriage and life during lockdown, her delivery of a joke was sublime, and she was effortless in making the audience cry with laughter.
I watched her solo show Hot Mess at the Edinburgh Fringe in August 2022. Intelligent one-liners and stores delivered with a down-to-earth no-nonsense approach from the exceptionally likeable and talented Barnes made for a very funny hour and excellent addition to the Fringe programme. Marriage, loss and mishaps in life were all covered and the encouraging audience cheered and laughed continuously at the great comedian.
Barnes is talented, confident, brash and above all very, very funny. She is highly recommended, and Barnes is one of the best female comedians currently working on the circuit.
