Toby Hadoke
Toby Hadoke is the compere, the host and the man responsible for starting the Malarkey gigs, all the way back in 1997 when it was known as “Murphy’s Malarkey”. When offstage, he can usually be found wandering around looking bewildered at anything that has any reference to modern popular culture. As well as doing the comedy thing, Toby is an actor, a voice over artist and quite possibly the most obsessed Doctor Who fan this side of Gallifrey.
It’s not just Toby that gets the night under way though… he has an army of helpers, all of whom started off as regular audience members at the club:
Spider
Spider - Known by his family as “Neil”, Spider became part of Murphy’s Malarkey in 1999 as it became evident it was becoming more than a mere “pub gig” and seeing that Toby really, really, really needed some help running it. Spider maintains the XS Malarkey website, takes money off people at the door, and painstakingly collects and compiles obscure TV themes to play in the intervals. If that isn’t enough, he also currently runs the legendary Comedy Balloon open spot night, where he discovers some of the up and coming open spots that grace the Malarkey stage.
Lee
Lee - Joined Toby in 2001 after being a regular punter and took up various duties including moving the club to a bigger venue, helping on the door and fiddling around with the sound desk by bringing a little bit of production to the show. Intro music? Who knew we needed that? He also assisted Spider in the increasingly difficult task of keeping Toby relatively sane (he failed). Lee was the General Manager at of the Frog and Bucket Comedy Clubs for 8 years and now, as well as looking after most of the act bookings, Lee also runs the most successful comedy agency outside of London – Gag Reflex Management. He manages the careers of acts including Steve Shanyaski, The Boy with Tape on his Face, Dan Nightingale, and of course, Toby Hadoke.
Mike
Mike - Joined the XS Malarkey crew in 2003. Starting off by helping out on the door, Mike can usually be found twiddling the dials and sliders on the sound desk, setting up the CD players, microphones and swearing at the PA system.
Rosz
Ros - Became a Malarkian in 2003. Ros can be found at the door viciously relieving people of their money every week. Ros also looks after the Malarkey Cards and assists Lee with booking the acts.
Leanne
Leanne - Starting off by occasionally filling in at the door for an absent Spider or Ros, Leanne is now there regularly, signing up new Malarkey Card holders and generally helping out when needed.