Q: What is a http://www.tombolaoffun.com?

A: http://www.tombolaoffun.com is a website on the internet that YOU are on right now. It also supports the fantastic new comedy night Tombola of Fun, which Nathaniel Metcalfe runs. Nathaniel Metcalfe will also use the website for his own mysterious ends.

Q: What is a “Tombola of Fun” (and for that matter what is a Nathaniel Metcalfe)?

A: Tombola of Fun is a night which features a bunch of new, and established, comedians that Nathaniel Metcalfe really likes. It’s presented in a big old fashioned showbiz style, like Sunday Night at the London Palladium, only instead of being at the Palladium and on the telly in the 1960s, it’s in a room above a pub, in the current era. Apart from that it’s almost exactly the same. It’s even got a game show in it called “Better or Worse” and hopefully other entertainers of a different variety. It’s not big or clever, it just aims to be genuinely entertaining and make people want to come back again and again.

Nathaniel Metcalfe is a human man who has been doing stand-up for about eighteen months. He’s responsible for Tombola of Fun. He got through to the semi-finals of So You Think You’re Funny? in Edinburgh in 2007 and the quarter finals of the Laughing Horse New Act of the Year in 2008.

Q: That means he must be good right?

A: He’s alright.

Q: Cool! I’m a big fan of mediocre comedians. Where else can I see this Nathaniel Metcalfe perform?

A: Nathaniel would most like it if you went to see him on one of his Tombola of Fun nights but his other current bookings can be found below, on the column to the left, and are constantly updated on http://www.tombolaoffun.com/:

Friday 3rd October 2008
Upstairs at the Goat Tavern
3 Stafford Street
London W1S 4RP
8:45pm (Doors 8:15pm)
£7, £6 (Concessions) or £5 Online

Saturday 25th October 2008
Laughing Horse Kingston
The Cricketers
20 Fairfield South
Kingston-upon-Thames
Surrey
KT1 2UL
8pm (8:30pm)
£5 Online or £6 on the door

Sunday 21st December 2008
Sunday Special
Up the Creek
302 Creek Road
Greenwich
London SE10 9SW
8:30pm (Doors 7:30pm)
£5 (£3 Concessions)

Tuesday 13th January 2009
New Acts at the Bedford
The Bedford
77 Bedford Hill
London SW12 9HD
£3
9pm (Doors 8pm)

Q: Wow. That’s not many. Is that because Nathaniel is so good that he only makes rare appearances on the comedy circuit or is he just really lazy and/or bad?

A: Yeah, well maybe he’s just actually spending most of his time working on these Tombola of Fun shows and trying to make them really good. Did you ever think about that? Well did you? No, so just don’t judge him yeah!

Q: How much does it cost to get in?

A: Five pounds.

Q: Does that represent good value in these difficult times?

A: It does.

Q: When and where is Tombola of Fun at?

A: It’s on the third Wednesday of every month, beginning on 15th October (and continuing on 19th November and 17th December etc) at 8:30pm (Doors 8pm) at The Star Pub in Tufnell Park.

Q: Does the pub have an address and website?

A: Well it’s funny you should ask. It’s:
The Star
47 Chester Road
London
N19 5DF
http://www.thestar-n19.co.uk/

Q: I work in an office/am a stalker/hate myself on a profound level, and therefore have a Facebook account is there some kind of cool Tombola of Fun group I can join to waste a bit of time before the end of the day/give me something to do between tears?

A: Yes it’s at http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=26857883757

Q: Why is it called Tombola of Fun?

A: Nathaniel just liked the sound of it. Later on he thought the Sleepy Time Adventure Hour would make a better name, but thought it might confuse people because it’s on longer than an hour, and besides he already had the internet domain name http://www.tombolaoffun.com booked. Nathaniel still thinks the Sleepy Time Adventure Hour is a cool name though.

Q: So how long does each show last?

A: About two hours, not including the interval in middle.

Q: What’s happening in the first show on Wednesday 15th October at 8:30pm?

A: You can find all about it here.

M: Hi guys.

Q: Who are you?

M: I’m M

Q: Oh hi. I’m Q and I represent Questions and this is A and he represents Answers.

A: Hello.

Q: Not trying to be rude but I’m here asking A some questions and he’s answering them. What is your role in this scenario? Are you M from off of the James Bond films? Are you the actor Bernard Lee?

M: No, he’s dead. Now I’m Judi Dench from the Oscars and A Fine Romance. So are you Q from off of the James Bond films? We’re probably friends or something right? Didn’t you die? Aren’t you John Cleese or something now?

Q: No, no he was a different character, but he wasn’t in the last one.

M: Well he wouldn’t have been would he, because that one was set before all the others.

Q: But then why was Judi Dench still in it. That doesn’t make sense… So confused… Brain hurts. Why M? WHY?

M: Arrghh. I am a paradox. I can’t exist. I’m disappearing like Michael J Fox’s hand in Back to the Future. And now I have completely disappeared…

A: Well it’s funny you should mention James Bond because the first Tombola of Fun will have a theme of James Bond and 60s spies.

Q: That’s convenient. Tell me is this joke really working, whereby we’re both characters inside a F.A.Q. having a real conversation, talking about Nathaniel Metcalfe like he’s not actually just writing the words we’re speaking right now? Did it ever work? Was it ever good?

A: Maybe not anymore, but I felt it had its moments at points…

Q: Really? Really?

Nathaniel: No.