Helen Arney news
February 2011

Yes we're back once again with the (not very) ill behaviour... announcing the full Spring season of Festival of the Spoken Nerd, first videos of my ladyband The Balconettes, gigs for kids and gigs for adults, and plenty of things online for you to enjoy from the comfort of your broadband-enabled armchair. If you thought January's update was big, well, strap in because this month's newsletter has its own postcode...
 
New things for February:
Festival of the Spoken Nerd every month in London, plus one show in Cambridge
The Balconettes - videos online and our next gig on 24th Feb
13th Feb - solo show at Leicester Comedy Festival 
14th-18th Feb - Valentines Day Is Over - a play in a cafe
19th-21st Feb - Comedy for Kids at the South Bank
April & May - "Uncaged Monkeys" national science tour with Robin Ince, Brian Cox, Simon Singh & Ben Goldacre
Online any time - "Baby Be Good To Me" - a song with Darren Hayman
Online any time - MJ Hibbett Totally Acoustic podcast
Online any time - Twittering @helenarney & @thebalconettes
 
  

 
Festival of the Spoken Nerd 
 
A spurious Venn diagram. If you like this you will definitely like the show. There's always time for questions at Festival of the Spoken Nerd.
 
We're back with a new season of "Festival of the Spoken Nerd', a comedy night for non-scientists, science buffs and the terminally sci-curious. Featuring stand-up mathematician Matt Parker, comedian and Blue Peter science expert Steve Mould, me doing science-y songs PLUS a special guest scientist and comedy headliner, it's now monthly at the Green Man near Oxford Circus. 
 
February 14th is now **SOLD OUT**, but tickets are already available for March, April, May, and our special Cambridge Science Festival show on March 19th. Book now before availability hits zero! 
 
9th March - with Dr Matt Baker & Joanna Neary
19th March in Cambridge - with Lewis Dartnell & TBA 
12th April - with Dr Lucie Green & Yianni Agisilaou
23rd May - with Prof David Cliff & Helen Keen

Click here for the FOTSN website, with complete listings and links to buy tickets online 
 
Watch The Balconettes online! And live at the RVT!
Thanks everyone who came to see The Balconettes at our very first gig in January. It was so totally special and so completely awesome that we got ourselves another gig right away and filmed three songs in marvellous High Definition for your viewing pleasure!
 
 
You'll recognise the Balconette with glasses, but there's also the brilliant Danielle Ward on drums, and the fabulous Rachel Parris on piano.
 

You can see us live every month as the house band for Sideways Smile at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern. If you like brilliant comedy from some of the best acts on the circuit, and if you want to hear new songs from The Balconettes before anyone else, this is the night for you:
 
Thursday 24th Feb - with Isy Suttie, Bridget Christie, Lucy Porter & The Balconettes, hosted by Danielle Ward a the Royal Vauxhall Tavern.
 
We're back at the RVT 24th Mar & 27th Apr - line-ups TBA but I think you get the idea that they'll be awesome shows as well.
 
Like our Facebook Fanpage  
Like our videos and subscribe at YouTube.com/balconettes
Follow us on Twitter @thebalconettes
 
More nice shows coming up this month in Leicester & London
 
Sun 13th Feb, 6.30pm at The Looking Glass 
I'm doing one last hurrah of my 2010 Edinburgh show "Songs for Modern Loving" at Leicester Comedy Festival. It's the perfect antidote to the chocolate-and-Hallmark-based antics of next week. If you know anyone in or near Leicester please send them over!
Buy tickets  

"Valentines Day Is Over" - comedy plays in a London cafe
C54 Theatre Company is hosting a series of new comedy plays at the gorgeous Oliver's Village Cafe in Belsize Park, and I'm the warm-up act. They're on every night from 15th to 18th February. Tickets are only a tenner so whether your Valentines Day was one to remember or one to forget, come along for songs, theatre, a glass of champagne and some yummy ickle canape-type noms.
 
James Campbell's Comedy and Songs for Kids at the South Bank, 19th-21st Feb 
Another final hurrah: James and I are doing last 3 dates of our kids tour at the fancy schmancy Purcell Room, as part of the Imagine Festival for Children. There's new stand-up from James (suitable for kids 8-80) plus half a dozen songs we've written about pets, philosophy, sausages, and how superheroes go to the toilet. We're also recording these shows for a CD which will potentially solve a few Christmas list crises in December, if you have to buy any presents for little people then. 
Some tickets left for Monday 21st Feb at 2.30pm - the others are sold out - sorry!
We're also doing it at the Y in Leicester on Sunday 13th Feb at 2.30pm - tickets still available
 
More gigs in February in a variety of places...
...like Bethnal Green, Battersea Power Station, Forest Hill, "Perfect Movie" at the Green Man, "Geek Chic" at Leicester Square Theatre, Bedworth Arts Centre, something called "Quiz in my Pants" and my pal Elizabeth's wedding - although that last one isn't listed here:
 
Uncaged Monkeys - national science tour April & May
I'm squealingly excited to be part of the Uncaged Monkeys tour later this year. It's the first of its kind: a national science tour to celebrate the universe and many of the wonders that lie within it, featuring Robin Ince, Prof Brian Cox, Dr Ben Goldacre and Simon Singh. And me! I'm a guest on all 15 dates, singing some of my science-y songs and wearing a selection of pretty dresses bought from the Marie Curie charity shop in Islington (recycled fashion is statement fashion, people...)
 
The first date is April 3rd in Glasgow, then it starts up again on May 1st. We're everywhere from Oxford to Manchester, Aberdeen to Cambridge, Cardiff to Basingstoke, Newcastle, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Ipswich, Birmingham, Reading, Bristol and finishing up at the Hammersmith Apollo on Monday 16th May.   
 
You can see all the dates (and buy tickets) at robinince.com - scroll down a bit for the full selection.
 
Online now - music with Darren Hayman & MJ Hibbett
I spent a pretty special day in January with my sister Kat Arney, her fiance Ricky Fabulous of Belleruche, illustrator Tom Humberstone and the awesome Darren Hayman ex-of-Hefner-and-now-of-Darren-Hayman-and-the-Secondary-Modern.
 
Darren wrote and recorded a new song for every single day of January, and we helped him with Day 22. You can hear the track we made, and see the video, here: Baby Be Good To Me 
 
The whole epic journey is documented here, where you can also buy individual tracks or the whole month's worth plus bonus tracks. Day 10 with Elizabeth Morris of 'Allo Darlin' and Day 19 with Valentine Leys are my favourites.  
 
 

One of Tom Humberstone's illustrations from the day. More at tomhumberstone.com
If you liked that bit of indie musicky goodness, you'll probably want to listen to MJ Hibbett's TOTALLY ACOUSTIC podcast Episode 5, where I'm doing some of my songs in a (you've guessed it) Totally Acoustic style.
 
Click here to get the podcast, which also features ace songs by MJ Hibbett and Tim Eveleigh.
 
Mr Hibbett runs the night near Russell Square every couple of weeks, details here, and if you haven't seen it yet I would highly recommend his awesome geek rock opera, Dinosaur Planet which is touring right now. 
 
Twitter and links and goodbye for now
Finally, if you're one of the twittering classes you can follow both me and The Balconettes here:
 
 
See you at a thing (or on Twitter) some time soon,

helen
 
 

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