Ben Williams from Wells may still be doing AS Levels at Wells Cathedral School, but that hasn't stopped the 17-year-old setting up the Long Paws Comedy Club. Hattie Hayridge (star of Red Dwarf), Alex Horne (who was nominated for the Perrier Best Newcomer award), Papa CJ, and Richard Herring have all appeared at the night. For ticket info, go to The Long Paws Comedy Club website - the link's on the right of this page. Comedy ideas Ben first got into comedy two years ago at Glastonbury, where he spent all his time in the Cabaret Tent. | "Noel Fielding from the Mighty Boosh would be the number one act I'd want to book for my comedy night." | | Ben Williams |
Although he agrees that the local comedy scene has improved recently, with comedy nights being held in Glastonbury and Yeovil, many people still venture to Bath and Bristol to get their laughs. Ben wanted to bring comedy closer to Wells, which is why he came up with the idea of setting up the club. "I was originally going to hold a charity event at school," Ben says, "but it didn't have a big enough venue. "So I started to look at other places in Wells, and the Little Theatre was the best one." A little help from a comedy club in London, who helped Ben to contact the comedians he wanted to book, et voila – the Long Paws Comedy Club was established. Future comedy plans Top acts such as Richard Herring (who's originally from Cheddar), James Dowdeswell, Rob Deering and Mark Watson were booked for the opening night, which took place on Sunday 19 June, 2005. Ben's future plans are to get touring shows to the club, such as Chris Addison, who's currently starring in The Thick of It on BBC FOUR. Watch out too for Ben's favourite comedian Noel Fielding from the Mighty Boosh appearing in Wells. "He would be the number one act I'd want to book for my comedy night," Ben says. Listen to an interview with Richard Herring via the link at the top | 
