Good Ship Comedy
at Swimmer at the Grafton Arms, London
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Good Ship Comedy is your friendly neighbourhood comedy club featuring some of the finest comics from the UK and international festival circuit.
Please note that the artists appearing may be subject to change.
Harriet Kemsley
Among Harriet's many accolades are Funny's Funny Female Comedian Of The Year 2011 winner, Bath New Act of the Year 2012 winner and Brighton New Act of the Year 2012 winner. 'Excellent Writing' (Chortle), 'Harriet Kemsley shone' (Sternberg Clarke) 'Fresh. different. brilliant' 9Funny's Funny) 'A hilarious combination of bashful and weird' (Three Weeks) 'A quirky, very funny new stand up... her style is refreshingly original and she's a seriously good writer' (Time Out).
See Harriet Kemsley tour dates
Michael Shafar
Since leaving a career in law for comedy, Michael has been working hard to win his mother's forgiveness, and has (somewhat) achieved that, having performed around Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the US and on international waters. From 2015-2016 he hosted Channel 31's satirical news show The Leak and developed the viral sensation Round Squares, a satirical webpage and web series that has reached millions of Australians. In 2016, Michael reached the RAW Comedy National Grand Final, represented Australia in the Laugh Factory's Funniest Person in the World Competition and toured across Asia, headlining at some of the continent's largest comedy clubs. He also developed, produced and hosted the showcases Melbourne Comedy's Rising Stars and 3 Course Comedy, which continue to sell out shows. 2017 was another huge year for Michael, selling out his entire season and extra show of Jewish-ish at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, selling out shows at Sydney Fringe Comedy, performing on ABC's Comedy Bites, triple j's Good Az Friday, landing a gig writing jokes for Channel 10's The Project and appearing in the show's sketches, as well as being selected to perform internationally on Carnival Cruise Lines and Celebrity Cruises. In 2018 Michael toured his new show Kosher Bacon to sold out crowds in Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne to rave reviews. In 2019 he performed his biggest tour yet with 50/50, his darkest and funniest show yet, chronicling his diagnosis and treatment for testicular cancer.
See Michael Shafar tour dates
Ben Van Der Velde
Ben Van der Velde is a stand-up comedian, actor, improviser and presenter, who, over the past few years, has spread joy and nonsense to all four corners of the British Isles, as well as Greece, Switzerland, Estonia, Latvia, Finland and Norway. He is a regular host and act for respected British comedy clubs such as The Comedy Store, The Stand, Komedia, The Backyard, Covent Garden Comedy Club, Outside the Box, the Frog & Bucket, Comedy Club 4 Kids, Off the Kerb and The Comedy Café, as well as hosting stages for Bestival, Festival No.6 and Sunday Papers Live. He has also founded the Church of the Holy Kazoo with comedy legend Mark Thomas, walked the entire London Underground network to raise money for The Refugee Council and even took part in experiments at The Royal Society that revealed him to have the most infectious laugh of any human, rat or monkey. Ben is a regular performer at the Edinburgh Festival, where he has performed four critically-acclaimed shows: Chain Letter, Strudelhead, Barbarians and Sidekick. In 2016 his most recent show received 5 and 4 star reviews, whilst several of jokes made it into lists of ‘Best Joke at the Fringe’ compiled by The Scotsman, i-News and The Huffington Post. Ben has amassed a few residencies as an MC; most notably at Really Lovely Comedy and the legendary Free Beer Show, where he has featured alongside acts such as Omid Djalili, Reginald D. Hunter, Sarah Millican, Jim Jefferies and Andrew Maxwell . Ben is currently helmsman of the Chortle Award-winning Good Ship Comedy Club in Camden Town, where he can be seen spinning webs of nonsense and good humour every Monday from 8pm. (www.goodshipcomedy.com) “A sharp and crafty gagsmith, with wittily obtuse takes on…an impressively wide range of topics…bringing flair and confidence to them all.” Steve Bennett, Chortle “Highly promising…an accomplished comic.” Time Out “Wonderfully improvised riffs showcasing his impressive spontaneity and sharp tongue.” Edinburgh Festivals Magazine “The perfect comedy club host – he is a master of audience interaction. The audience weren’t just warmed up, but pretty hysterical even before the first act of the night hit the stage.” Huffington Post “On flights of fancy, he pushes ideas to extremes and displays a crackling, spontaneous energy in which we’re swept up.” Fest
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Also Appearing
Diesel
Swimmer at the Grafton Arms
13 Eburne Road
London
N7 6AR
See all events at Swimmer at the Grafton Arms
Swimmer at the Grafton Arms
13 Eburne Road
London
N7 6AR
See all events at Swimmer at the Grafton Arms
Find places to stay near Swimmer at the Grafton Arms
on Thu 13 November 2025