Michael McIntyre for Folkestone Comedy fest!

Tickets £25 though! 01303 858 500 #comedy

They're calling it a warm up, tickets are £25! Guess they have to stump up a lot to get a big name like that to appear at a small new venue... Friday 22nd May, get in quick if I was you. Hmm, our baby is due that weekend, think we can still go?

Michael's brilliantly engaging delivery and effortless rapport with the audience have led to him to be hailed as the best new stand up to emerge in a decade and has earned him a sell-out DVD, countless television appearances and an upcoming BBC ONE series, "Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow".

In preparation for his 30 date UK arena tour this autumn, Michael will perform a number of warm-up gigs around the country this spring and summer and we are delighted to be welcoming him to Quarterhouse.

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Inside the Cheesegrater

Popped along to the opening evening of the Cheesegrater last night (also know as The Quarterhouse), Folkestone's new flagship venue. It's alright! It seems a bit stark inside, but then there were only a few invited guests inside (er, people who had expressed some kind of interest online, or who had just walked in off the street). When it's heaving with a crowd of 500 it will be a different matter. It has fine modern facilities for teh putting on of performances, including a MAD bed spring like safety net ceiling that the techs and lighting engineers can bound across to change lights and things. Every show will look like that Cirque de Soleil show I went to with the performers bouncing off the ceiling...

The venue is split into many parts, the downstairs performance space converts at the flick of a switch from banked theatre seats to an open 500 capacity "concrete box within a concrete box" so should be able to suit comedy, theatre and gigs nicely. Upstairs (perhaps most importantly) is the bar. It is Bar Vasa who are running it, all seemed quite slick, they are doing food, and there were many tables reserved. Not sure what's behind the bar, they were serving jolly nice complimentary fizz, apart from that there were standard gig venue taps for Carling, Strongbow, and some kind of actual beer! Something Masterbrew like I expect but I didn't recognise it. I almost look forward to giving it a try, it will sustain me between real ales.

Other things I learned (mostly from a little speech by chief exec and creative director Nick Ewbank) are that the architects who designed it have not done another public building before this one (sounds like they are very nice), that the fist big event (BBC Kent Introducing) did not quite fill the venue, and that there is a comedy festival lined up for May. I will get more details from my contacts!

I really had to sprint round in order to be back to make dinner, so did not have time to say hello to anyone. Sorry!

UPDATE: Here is someone's video from the "bed spring like safety net ceiling" I mentioned:

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Pictures of the inside of the Cheesegrater!

Plus official opening ceremony - where is my invite?

Here on archdaily.com. CMS Secretary of State Andy Burnham, performs the official opening of our new venue on the 5th of March. Where's my invite? Big ups to Number 11 (not that one), who did invite me to their opening do on Thursday. Sorry I couldn't make it.

The building is the centrepiece of the city's arts-led regeneration programme spearheaded by client The Creative Foundation. The 1550 sqm includes a 220 seat, 500 standing multi-purpose auditorium for music, dance, theatre, film performances and conferences; ground floor foyer and exhibition space; first floor cafe / bar and a top floor business centre for start-ups in the creative industries.

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