Can you make other people laugh?
A fun new initiative is aiming to spread the laughter during these tough times of the coronavirus outbreak.
Local comedian Brendan Riley has launched Sefton Comedy Hub in a bid to cheer us all up and give a platform to anyone who can bring a much-needed smile to our faces.
He said: “The hub’s aim is to invite members of the community to record short videos clips on your mobile of you engaged in light-hearted humorous activities.
“Please keep it squeaky clean, and don’t be dangerous! We don’t want to see clips of someone falling off a hedge or anything.
“We want you to be the stars of our show.
“Tell us a joke, read a funny poem, give us your best impression.
“Send us a funny video clip, dress up your pet, or sing us a funny song! Basically, anything that will make us laugh.
“There are some really funny video clips on our Sefton Comedy Hub Facebook page already, from children uploading their clips from Tik Tok to Jonathan Cunningham playing his ukelele or John Harding doing some comedy balloon modelling, so go on and have a look. We are getting clips through every day, and they are building up.”
Comedian and Southport Comedy Festival director Brendan Riley
Sefton Comedy Hub is being run in conjunction with the Sefton Borough Of Culture 2020 celebrations.
Brendan, who organises Southport Comedy Festival every year, had originally proposed a different initiative.
But when the coronavirus hit hard last month, leading to local residents staying home and businesses shut, Brendan worked quickly with Sefton Borough Of Culture officers to produce something that people could do from the safety of their own homes – and which would cheer everyone up during these anxious times.
He said: “We are all in lockdown at the moment and there is a kind of Blitz spirit developing, so we wanted to come up with an idea that was a bit of fun and lighten the mood during this horrible time.
“I describe this period as like being in a storm in the middle of the Atlantic. When I had the chance to do something positive I jumped at it.
“Everyone is going to be bored of watching telly now and we also want to help anyone suffering from loneliness and self-isolation, so this is all about getting really interactive.
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“We want our community to be funny and to entertain our community whilst everyone is living under the current restrictions on movement and getting together.
“The only rule is that all clips have to be suitable for everyone who may view the page, we want this to be light entertainment at its best.
“I want this to be as broad as possible so clips will appeal to everyone, from kids, to families, to pensioners.
“We are going to run a Clip Of The Week, revealing the best one every Saturday, with a £20 Amazon voucher for the winner.
“This is a six week project which will hopefully see us all through lockdown.”
This Sefton Borough Of Culture initiative is part-funded by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Borough of Culture
Fund. It is part of a new scheme introduced by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram to support economic growth and create a lasting cultural legacy across the whole region.
