Mencap Big Comedy Special Review
Mencap Big Comedy Special
Hammersmith Apollo
Wednesday 2 October 2013
Reviewed by David Savage
I was lucky enough to be invited to the Mencap Big Comedy Special night at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, and it was a great night with some of the UK's biggest names in comedy attending to support this great cause.
Mencap is the UK’s leading charity for people with a learning disability, their families and carers and this show was put on to raise funds and awareness for them to continue their great work.
The star studded line up entertaining the packed theatre with stand up and comedy sketches consisted of Omid Djalili, Russell Howard, Jo Brand, Richard Herring, Susan Calman, Wendy Wason, Andrew Maxwell, Jon Richardson, Ronni Ancona, Tim Vine, Francine Lewis, Lucy Punch, Tim Downie, Cardinal Burns and headline act Jack Whitehall.
Andrew Maxwell was first to come on and set the standard and for the next 2½ hours the evening just kept getting better and better. With stand-up comedians and comedy sketches from Ronnie Ancona and the hilarious Cardinal Burns who gave a couple of audience members more than they bargained for when they joined them in the seats, it was a hilarious night from start to finish.
For me Russell Howard with jokes about his lovely mum was the star of the night but all the acts were fabulous making the night a great success and hopefully raising awareness and funds for Mencap. Everybody left the theatre happy and laughing. A great night of comedy entertainment!
A big thank you must go to all the acts, organisers and staff for putting on a great show and making it a excellent fun-filled night, let's hope there will be another one next year!
If you would like to donate to Mencap Text MENC135 to 70070 to donate £5.
Rating: 5/5 
For more information about Mencap and it's work visit www.mencap.org.uk
Twitter: @mencap_charity #mencapcomedy
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Mencap
To donate:Text MENC135 to 70070 to donate £5
About Mencap:
There are 1.4 million people with a learning disability in the UK. Mencap works to support people with a learning disability, their families and carers by fighting to change laws, improve services and access to education, employment and leisure facilities. Mencap supports thousands of people with a learning disability to live their lives the way they want.
For advice and information about learning disability and Mencap services in your area, contact Mencap Direct on 0808 808 1111 (9am-5pm, Monday-Friday) or email help@mencap.org.uk
What is a learning disability?
A learning disability is a reduced intellectual ability and difficulty with everyday activities – for example household tasks, socialising or managing money, which affects someone for their whole life.
People with a learning disability tend to take longer to learn and may need support to develop new skills, understand complex information and interact with other people. The level of support someone needs depends on individual factors, including the severity of their learning disability.
Learning disability is NOT a mental illness. The term learning difficulty is often incorrectly used interchangeably with learning disability.