Another week, another interview for the newsletter. Eventually I’ll move these over to a dedicated Indie Brighton website, but for now, they can live here.

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Heya! Who are you and how did you get involved in the crazy world of independent comedy night promotion?

Hi! I’m Bex Turner. I’m a stand-up but in recent years I’ve started to focus more on character comedy. To be honest I just fancied creating a surreal night in 2019 as there were quite a few straight, down the line stand-up nights and there hadn’t been too many weird nights for quite a few years. 

Creating my own night allowed me to build my confidence which encouraged me to approach my workplace about producing a stand-up show with them in 2025. 

Where did the name CLOGG COMEDY come from, and what is the ethos of the night?

CLOGG is quite a nonsensical title. It means Comedians Laughter Logg. The original ethos of the night was to give a space for weirder acts to come and experiment, perform and feel fully comfortable to be weird in a non-traditional setting. 

Does anyone ever confuse the name with that of the ex deputy prime minister Nick Clegg?

No, but when CLOGG first started it was at The Brunswick (in Hove) and sometimes people would go to The Caroline of Brunswick1 by accident. 

If Nick Clegg were to quit his high-paying job doing PR for Facebook, and decided instead to dedicate himself to a life of alternative comedy, would you book his for Clogg? And if so would you change the name of the night for one night only?

No and no. One of my biggest aims for the comedy lineups at CLOGG was that if I was to have a headliner (which sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t), I try to make sure it’s a woman/female identifying person. 

As well as putting on nights you also perform comedy yourself, specifically character comedy. How did you get started?

My first actual comedy performance was in 2010 at a Laughing Horse weekend comedy course. I didn’t do stand-up properly until my 2nd year of Uni. My stand-up was always very theatrical and as much as I enjoy performing it, I just needed a bit of a reset and so I’m now focusing on creating character sets. My inspirations have always been more sketch/character e.g. The League of Gentleman, Cardinal Burns, The Fast Show etc. 

Do you have a character that you consider your favourite?

Oooo, that’s hard to pinpoint as I like each of my characters for slightly different reasons. I’d say the most fascinating one is ‘Princess Franchise’. I feel that I worked the hardest on developing her story/background and she’s also quite interesting as she challenges the audience due to the heavy mix of pathos and comedy. 

It’s the one that feels the most in tune with the type of character comedy I want to create which is witty/weird. For an alternative act, I’m not into silly surreal jokes.  

How do your comedy characters develop? Do you drag them out of the ether, kicking and screaming, or is it a gradual process of realising that some material works better in a particular voice?

Usually they are dragged out of the ether, kicking and screaming! But then connections to real people will come later on. For example ‘The Wartime Agony Aunt Madge’ started as a regular character I did on my first YouTube channel. 

She was initially very ‘naive’ but with weird answers. In the past few years she slowly morphed into a very vulgar, no nonsense person with a sad love story. This idea came from an acquaintance of my parents who had a very, very close relationship with their friend but because this was in the 1940s it would’ve been very hush-hush. 

Tell me a bit more about Clogg. Are there any acts you’ve had that particularly stand out, or that you were especially excited to book?

I was super excited to have Christian Brighty on in January this year and then I got to have Derek Mitchell do a preview of Goblin. Both acts which I greatly admire. Then there are acts who are booked last minute and who surprise me. This includes Anna Soden and Lou Taylor. 

Who’s on the lineup this month?

It’s a beauty! We have…James Danielewski, Maria Telnikoff, Nina Semple, Lady Bolognese, Barbara Fernandez with MC Martin Warren and headliner Pam Ford! 

How can people find out more about your crazy schemes?

For CLOGG check out our instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/cloggcomedy/

For general vlogs, skits and cats check out my instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bexturnercomedy/

You can buy tickets to Clogg Comedy at The Caroline Of Brunswick (not the Brunswick in Hove) here.