Hook Up Culture: Comedy Cabaret Run by Jazz Musicians
Hook Up Culture is a warm embrace of a night - celebrating love, desire, yearning, and the rarely-seen "successful swipe" on your dating app of choice. Part comedy and part cabaret, one thing is for certain at Hook Up Culture: between our effervescent hosts, top notch acts and mesmerising house band The Fuckaround Five you’ll be thoroughly entertained! London's flirtiest night out presents poetry, comedy and music on all topics related to romance: from regrettably dodgy dates to really exceptional first kisses, there's something for everyone. Come feel good with us!
Laila Woozeer (Host)
Laila Woozeer is an award-winning writer, musician and performer based in London. Laila’s book Not Quite White, a ”lyrical odyessy” magical realism memoir about being mixed race, was released 2022 (Simon and Schuster). Laila was a recipient of the C4CC Big Initiatives Award, the Playbill Best Original Score and was a nominee for the Atlantic Music Prize.
Kate Cheka
Kate Cheka is an award-winning comedian, writer and artist. Her debut hour received critical acclaim, a Soho Theatre run and was nominated for NextUp's Biggest Award in Comedy. Other accolades include winner of the Funny Women Awards 2023, regional finalist BBC New Comedy Awards 2022 and Chortle Best Newcomer nominee 2024.
John-Luke Roberts:
John-Luke Roberts is an artist, comedian and actor. He has written and performed 10 solo shows and won the Fringe Legend award at the Edinburgh Fringe 2024. His podcast Sound Heap won the BBC Audio Drama Award for best sketch comedy, and you should listen to it, honestly.
Rosie Holt:
Rosie Holt is best known for her alter-ego MP whose popular videos on social media have achieved more than 7 million views. She is the winner of the Chortle Social Media Award and a nominee for the BPG Emerging Creators Award. Her last show, That’s Politainment! toured around the UK - “tightly crafted and brutal political satire with Orwellian flourishes” -Evening Standard, 4 stars. Her first book, Why We Were Right; A catalogue of Conservative Successes ( "Hilarious and alarmingly close to the bone” - The New European) written as her MP alter-ego is available to buy in shops now. She is the host of the Aria nominated podcast Noncensored, and has been seen/heard on The Russell Howard Hour (Sky Max), Friday Night with Niall Paterson (Sky News) BBC Radio 4’s The News Quiz, DM’s Are Open, POV, Please Use Other Door and Ashley Blaker 6.5 Children, among other credits. She has written for Prospect Magazine and The Byline Times.
Huge Davies
Combining his confident on stage presence, dark humour, surreal material and his one-of-kind customised keyboard, Huge has quickly risen to become one the most memorable and hilarious acts in the UK. Huge debuted his first show ‘The Carpark’ at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019. A complete sell-out, it received multiple five-star reviews and an Edinburgh Award Nomination for Best Newcomer. The show was featured as Time Out’s No.1 comedy show to see, had three runs at the Soho Theatre following excessive demand and filmed as a special by LA based company 800 Pound Gorilla Media. His second show ‘Whodunnit’ and third ‘Album 4 My Ancestors (dead)’ were also fully sold out, received multiple five star reviews and is currently on a national tour.
Huge appears on television frequently, including his own Channel 4 sitcom ‘The Artists’ which he created, wrote and starred in. Other television appearances include 8 Out Out 10 Cats Does Countdown (Channel 4), Roast Battle (Comedy Central), Jools Holland at the Albert Hall (Sky Arts), Hypothetical (Dave), Jonathan Ross’ Comedy Club (ITV1), Live at the Comedy Store (Comedy Central), Harry Hill’s Clubnite (Channel 4), Comedians Giving Lectures (Dave) Comedy All Stars Supershow (ABC) & The Stand Up Sketch Show (ITV2). He is a regular guest on the BBC Radio 4’s The Now Show and has appeared on The Off Menu Podcast. Huge performs all over the UK and internationally, supporting Phil Wang and Joe Lycett on their national tours. He also co-hosts podcast Slime Country with Ed Night and Sunil Patel.
The Fuckaround Five
The Hook Up Culture house band are an ever-evolving entity of some of the most talented, interesting and frankly, hottest, musicians around. FF members have won numerous awards and played with the likes of Cher, Adele, and Mickey Mouse. Studying in the prestigious halls of Juilliard, Berklee, RCM and Guildhall, our crew have performed at Glastonbury; the 02; Madrid and Barcelona Jazz Festivals, Caesars Palace Las Vegas to name a few. Players can be regularly seen in West End pit bands, the EMI recording studios, and haunting the upstairs of Ronnie Scotts. Also, did we mention how hot they are? Fuck around and find out! Fun fact: there has never once been five of them.