Mim's Comedy Night
Monday 9th July 2007
8.00pm
The Comedy Store
1A Oxendon St, London, SW1Y 4EE
Advance tickets were £20

Featuring (in order of appearance)
Mark Maier - Compere
Simon Amstell
Simon Brodkin
Jon Culshaw
Marcus Brigstocke
Francesca Martinez
Mitch Benn

Mim's Comedy Night was a success in so many ways!

Mim's sister Esther had the privilege of opening the proceedings and she welcomed Dr Ian Fleming on stage. He is a Consultant Anaesthetist at King's College Hospital who volunteers for ORBIS and he represented them at the comedy night. He spoke for a couple of minutes on ORBIS's work, and then Esther introduced Mark Maier who had the task of being compere for the evening. Simon Amstell was first on stage with his brand of scathing wit, followed by Simon Brodkin whose whole act was in the persona of a Liverpudlian footballer reading from his autobiography. The first half ended with Jon Culshaw delighting the audience by taking requests for his infallible impersonations. Before the break there was an auction of artwork including poster reproductions of Mim's own pictures, several prints and an oil painting.

Marcus Brigstocke opened the second half, followed by Francesca Martinez who gives a different kind of insight into living with Cerebral Palsy, and Mitch Benn was the final act, bringing music to the arena in the form of his undersized guitar. With a raffle to finish off the night's proceedings, it was a varied night full of laughs!

Mark Maier said: “Although I didn’t have the privilege of knowing Mim, it’s clear that she enjoyed a good laugh so this was the perfect way to raise money for a great cause.”

Jon Culshaw said: “It was a cracking night – a great feeling in the room. I was able to watch the second half from the audience and massively enjoyed it!”

Esther said: “Mim’s Comedy Night was overwhelmingly successful in every way. The clamour for tickets shows the wide appeal of a comedy event and the 400 capacity Comedy Store was packed. The auction and raffle boosted the night’s takings, and we raised £8,900 for the MHMF! Laughter is the greatest remedy, so best of all is that we laughed until our sides hurt, and I will have a smile on my face every time I remember the evening. It could not have been a more fitting tribute to Mim.”

Acknowledgments
Mim's Comedy Night has been made possible by the generosity of the comedians who have willingly given their time, the Comedy Store for help and advice and those who were close to Mim and who organised everything, especially Leanne Sharman, Judith Vandervelde, Josie Dobrin, Caroline Allouf and Esther Hyman. Thanks to those who donated raffle prizes and items for auction: Denise Laycock for her oil painting, "Absent Friend", Photolibrary.com for the purple poppy print, Rex Features Ltd for the comedian prints, Michael Grange of the AA 5 star Macdonald Randolph Hotel for the night at the hotel, Nicola Thoma of the Maybourne Hotel Group for the champagne tea for two at Claridges, Dora & Bernard Marks for a gift of champagne; well-wishers who gifted the Marks & Spencers voucher, the MP3 player and wine for the comedians

Related links:
The Comedy Store: "Special Events: Mim's Comedy Night"
Marie Claire: "Comedy Night Held for 7/7 Victim" (21 June)
Chortle: "Laughing in the Face of Terror" (22 June)
Something Jewish: "Comedy Night for Miriam" (25 June)
Jewtastic: "Comedy Night Remembers London Bomb Victim Miriam"
Daily Jews: "Comedy Night Memorial"
View London: "Mim's Comedy Night"
This is London: "Mim's Comedy Night"
TotallyJewish.com: "Making an Impression for Mim" (12 July)

We also had coverage on:
BBC London
BBC South Today
Central News
Independent Radio News
LBC Radio
Fox FM
ITV's "Loose Women" (9 July)

The stage complete with auction and raffle items	Raffle prizes
The door listing outside the Comedy Store	The programmes with reproductions of Mim's paintings on the cover
The queue for returned tickets
Compere Mark Maier	Simon Brodkin
Jon Culshaw	Marcus Brigstocke
Mitch Benn

Here is the information that was posted on this page before Mim's Comedy Night:

To mark the second anniversary of the London Bombings, Miriam's friends and family have organised Mim's Comedy Night at London's prestigious Comedy Store.

Esther, Miriam's sister, says: "This is the latest in an ongoing series of events supporting the MHMF, and each one has been something that Mim would have enjoyed herself. By holding Mim's Comedy Night we want to continue to do what we have tried to do all along, which is to make something positive come of the events of 7/7. At the time of the anniversary, Mim would approve of us raising our spirits as well as money for her Fund."

There will be an auction on the night of items including two mounted and framed posters of Mim's artwork, a print on canvas of a purple poppy donated by Photolibrary Group Ltd, and photographic prints of comedians donated by Rex Features Ltd.

There will also be a raffle on the night, with donated prizes including a night for two in Oxford's AA 5 star Macdonald Randolph Hotel including dinner and breakfast, a champagne tea for two at Claridges, a £50 Marks & Spencers voucher and an MP3 player!

Mimento cards, posters and the book, "Mimento: Paintings and Pastels by Miriam Hyman" will be available for sale on the night.

Everyone will receive a colour programme included in the price of the ticket.

Compere Mark Maier	Talented writer and stand-up Mark Maier is an established and highly sought after performer on the national and international comedy circuits. Mark's extraordinary talent for accents and dialects not only keeps him busy as a voice over artist, but resulted in his one man show 'Objects' transferring to Radio 4, receiving high critical acclaim.
Simon Amstell	Simon made a name for himself as the youngest ever finalist of the BBC New Comedy Awards before going on to present Channel 4's ‘Popworld’ and ‘The Morning After Show’ and he has recently started presenting BBC2's ‘Never Mind the Buzzcocks’. He performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2005 and 2006.
Francesca Martinez	You may remember Francesca from the BBC children’s series ‘Grange Hill’! She is now an award-winning stand-up comic who has performed at the Edinburgh, Melbourne and Montreal festivals. Her new show ‘Francesca Martinez in Deep’ premiers at the Edinburgh Festival in August 2007 and then tours the UK. In 2003 Francesca was listed in ‘The Observer’ as one of the fifty funniest acts in British comedy.
Jon Culshaw	Jon Culshaw is warmly regarded as the best impressionist in the UK. With a catalogue of over 350 hilarious impressions, his own series The Impressionable Jon Culshaw was broadcast on ITV1 and he has received rave reviews for the BBC2 TV series Dead Ringers which filmed its 7th series this year. With countless appearances on radio and television, he is amongst the UK's most popular comedians.
Mitch Benn	Mitch moved from Edinburgh to London in 1996 and established himself as a comedy club “headliner” as well as a favourite on the university circuit. He plays regularly at live shows, at clubs and festivals in the UK and overseas. Mitch is known for his satirical songs, many of which have been featured on BBC Radio 4 where he eventually had his own series, ‘Mitch Benn’s Crimes Against Music’. He also contributes songs to Radio 2's ‘The Now Show’ and ‘Its Been a Bad Week’ as well as Channel 4’s ‘Bremner, Bird and Fortune‘.
Simon Brodkin	Simon is one of the UK's most exciting young comics, described by Harry Hill as "the funniest new act I've seen in years." His acclaimed show Everyone But Himself scooped the Best Newcomer Award at The List/Writer's Guild Awards at last year's Edinburgh Festival, and he has recently been seen on E4 in ‘Simon Brodkin's Comedy Shorts’.
Marcus Brigstocke	Marcus began his comedy career at Bristol University where he performed stand up and character shows and soon won the BBC New Comedian of 1996. He has since emerged as a major comedy, writing and acting talent, performing in the UK and beyond and has become a regular voice on BBC Radio with an impressive list of TV and film credits. On the big screen he has appeared in the Richard Curtis movie Love Actually.

Friday 10-Aug-2007