Touring comedy gig to raise laughs and cash for Northamptonshire village

Comedy At Work is aiming to get communities giggling for a good cause when they bring their latest gig to Northamptonshire next week to kick off a year-long fundraising campaign in Hartwell.

On Friday, February 7 the touring comic line up continues at Hartwell Community Centre to boost funds towards the venue’s running costs and improvements.

Anne Docherty and Mark Hinds from Warwickshire are the creative minds behind Comedy at Work, a new business that brings stand-up to venues across the country in support of local charities.

Helping them to lay on the laughs in Hartwell will be Elliot Powell from Warwick, Sachin Kumarendran from Birmingham, Sam Rhodes from London and comedy magician Damon Conlon, from Walsall.

Some of the proceeds from the event will benefit the community centre, which has been a valued hub for the village for three decades.

Maintained by a combination of grants, fundraising and hire fees, it is popular among local groups such as the Hartwell Pre-School, youth clubs, scout and girl guides and WI.

The comedy night, which marks the start of a year’s fundraising drive, is adopting a 'Celebrate Northamptonshire' theme, which has been supported by six local drinks suppliers: Wharf Distillery and Roman Way Brewery in Potterspury; Saxbys in Farndish; Warners in Harrington; Stonyfield Vineyard in Blisworth and New Lodge Vineyard in Earls Barton.

The brewery is even creating a bespoke beer especially for the event called Hartwell Gold.

Kieran Gray, chair of Hartwell Community Centre, said: “We have great plans for the site in the near future, such as installing a fantastic new playground and improving the aesthetics of the building and grounds.

"Therefore we took the decision to start regular entertainment events at the community centre, in 2020, bringing quality entertainment coupled with a local produce bar to the village as well as raising much-needed funds to allow us to develop the centre to the benefit of the community.

“We are very pleased to be working with Comedy at Work and hope plenty of people come along and support us on the night.”

For details of the Comedy at Work Hartwell gig, visit: www.comedyatwork.com