A secret gig on Wednesday August 15th at Tiverton’s Comedy Hall raised more than £2000 for IAR.
IAR patron comedian and musician Bill Bailey packed the town’s New Hall, performing for free so that the profits could go to the work of International Animal Rescue. The crowd comprised regular audience members of the Comedy Hall, who snapped up all 220 tickets within 18 hours of an email being sent by event organiser Steve Lodge.
Steve Lodge said: “The response when I announced Bill Bailey was playing was incredible. Our email list has been growing since I started Comedy Hall in 2006, and it’s great to be able to treat the list to exclusive tickets to see one of the world’s top comedians.
“Bill is embarking on an arena tour in November, and he treated us to a very personal performance of new material that everyone thoroughly enjoyed. I was only too pleased to give every penny of profit to his charity.”
Everyone at IAR was delighted at the amount raised. CEO Alan Knight said:
“Bill is a great patron of IAR and recently made a personal video appeal to highlight the cruelty of ’dancing’ bears in India, but we had no idea he had agreed to play Comedy Hall in Tiverton. To raise £2000 is extraordinary, and as our charity was originally established in South Molton in Devon, it is also highly appropriate.
We can’t thank Bill enough for his wonderful support, and Steve Lodge too for raising such a fantastic sum of money.”