ABOUT BANTERBASH
Past, Present, and Future
The first BanterBash event was held in July 2017 and featured headline comedian Mo Gilligan, who is now recognised for co-hosting the Big Narstie show on Channel 4. Alongside Mo were Jose Da Cruz and Nadz the Comedienne who also performed on the night, which was held at Tropicana Beach Club in Covent Garden. This event was the brainchild of Anthony De Prezzo, who organised every detail of the first BanterBash event where he sold over 200 tickets. De Prezzo at the time, was working full time as the IT Team Leader for the Head Office of iconic brand Louis Vuitton. De Prezzo had never previously organised an event before and was probably out of his comfort zone. However, his passion for comedy led him to identify some of the best up and coming talent. This combined with creative venue ideas; the BanterBash Brand had truly arrived.
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The first event was a massive success, which in turn fuelled Anthony’s ambition to push the brand forward, so he decided to organise the second event in October 2017. Staying true to the ethos of “My audience is what matters the most!” he went away and thought about what could set BanterBash apart from the rest. He then went onto create the second BanterBash event, which he held at All Star Lanes Bowling. This is a unique and unconventional venue for a comedy night, but his vision really did work. Not only was the venue great and the atmosphere even better, but once the show had finished, the bowling lanes were open to complimentary bowling for all BanterBash ticket holders for the remainder of the evening. Comedians on the night were Junior Booker, Brandon Palmer, Sean Reid and Mr NoLontin – a completely new line up from the last event.
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Although event number 2 was also a great success, De Prezzo was now thinking “Outside of the box” to determine how he could take this to the next level to have BanterBash even bigger and better. The answer in fact was to have the event held on a modified Double Decker Bus! – That’s right! The first EVER comedy night in London held on a Double Decker Bus! The night featured music from the incredible DJ Pavlos, who had a full set up within the bus to keep the party going after the comedy acts. The demand for another BanterBus came immediately as the event ended with guests asking, “When is the next one? Where can we buy tickets?” So another was organised for a few weeks later.
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After 2 outstanding BanterBus events, De Prezzo wanted to make the third REALLY stand out, so he decided to do a collaboration with a comedian who is a renowned name in the world of stand up comedy and social media, Axel Blake. The bus went on as normal with two of London’s up and coming comedians Jester Jacobs and Phileo Huff, followed by DJ Pavlos continuing to light the decks on fire with the best of Old and New School RnB and Hip-Hop tracks. The bus then terminated at the o2 Greenwich, where the passengers on the bus had combined tickets to see Axel Blake’s biggest performance for his 2018 headline show “I’m Not Gonna Lie”. The combined ticket also included entrance to the after party ‘Faded’ at the Indigo o2 organised by Matthew Bridgeman.
Finally after having successfully delivered 4 sold out BanterBus events, Anthony asked himself what would keep his client base interested. So he decided to host his next event on the River Thames in Central London. On September 14th 2018 at 07.00pm, London witnessed the birth of BanterBoat. BatnterBoat was a Party Boat holding a total of 240 people where there would be not only just Stand Up Comedy, but up and coming UK musicians performing too. De Prezzo had Comedians Axel Blake, alongside Babatunde and DJ Pavlos. The boat had sailed along the River Thames with sensational views of London’s skyline, and yet again, due to another huge triumph, BanterBoat 2 came shortly afterwards. Photographs available in Gallery section.
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In 2019, De Prezzo hopes to top it again with the unveiling of the first BanterBash Savage Saturday event (which will not be for the faint hearted…) BanterBash have also teamed up with comedy organisers Funny & Furious, to bring you monthly Open Mic Comedy Nights in South London. (Tickets are now available to purchase – See events page). But most importantly, BanterBoat is BACK and De Prezzo always has his the people in mind, and goes above and beyond to think of different ways of making his clients happy. Subsequently Summer 2019, Anthony De Prezzo will be hosting the BanterBoat Comedy Show/Boat Party with a Pirates of the River Thames costumed theme event, where the best dressed gets a prize! Tickets are available NOW along with offers for Group and Birthday bookings! Please see Events Page.
