Old school New England 92 - Scanorama

THE WEEKENDER
For obvious reasons
you don’t hear the
expression “laughing
all the way to the
bank” much these
days. However, in London, there
is one group of people who
have every reason to chuckle
as they deposit their latest
paycheck: comedians. Britain’s
stand-up comedy scene
is booming. In and around
Piccadilly Circus there are at
least 10 comedy clubs every
Saturday night (most are open
seven days a week). There are
many more at pubs scattered
across the Tube network. As
a result, comedians from
around the world, not just
the English-speaking part, are
drawn to the city. London, with
its pointy-hatted policemen,
strutting pigeons and cheeky
cabbies, has always been a
funny old town but a comedy
weekend here is, as Woody
Allen almost said, the most
fun you can have with your
clothes on.
Where to go
The Comedy Store is the king
of London’s comedy scene,
having helped boot alternative
comedy into the mainstream
when it opened in 1979 (1A
Oxendon Street. Tel: +44 844
871 7699. www.thecomedy -
store.co.uk. $25-$30). A few
doors along there’s The Comedy
Pub, which puts on new
talent, as well as bigger names
(7 Oxendon Street. www.piccadilly
comedy.co.uk. $12-$15).
Just around the corner is one
of the 99 Club chain’s many
venues. The Storm Nightclub
was voted Best Venue in website
Chortle’s 2011 comedy
awards (28a Leicester Square.
www.99clubcomedy.com. $11-
$27). All are within a few
minutes walk of each other in
the West End. It’s also worth
making a detour to some further-flung
parts of London.
The King’s Head in Crouch
End (2 Crouch End Hill. Tel: +44
208340 1028. www.downstairsatthekingshead.com.
$6-$15) and
Night job:
Comedian and promoter
Mike Manera in action at
The Comedy Pub
the Banana Cabaret in Balham
(The Bedford. Tel: +44 208 682
8940. www.bananacabaret.co.uk.
$5-$25) are both favorites of
comics for their sympathetic
audiences, while Up the Creek,
in Greenwich, known for its
rowdy heckling, is a rite of passage
for up-and-coming comedians
(302 Creek Road. Tel: +44
208 858 4581. www.up-thecreek.com.
$6-$20).
What’s on
Fortnightly listings magazine
Time Out has a large comedy
preview, which is also useful
for making sure you don’t take
your grandma to see one of the
many comics who specialize in
filth (unless she likes that kind
of thing, of course). The above
venues are for over-18s only, so
don’t take the kids. Buy tickets
online or on the door.
Who to see
Comedian and promoter Mike
Manera recommends Chris
Norton Walker, Adam Belbin
and Julian Deane as among the
best of the new breed of comics.
December through January,
the original and hilarious Terry
Alderton is appearing regularly
at The Comedy Store in its The
Best In Stand-Up show. Also
at the Comedy Store, every
Sunday and Wednesday, are
the Comedy Store Players, the
world’s longest-running comedy
show. They started their
improvised routines in 1985
when they were unknowns.
Mainstay Paul Merton is a TV
regular and one of Britain’s
best-known comedians. And
now for something completely
different, to quote Monty
Python, in January The Comedy
Pub hosts Shazia Mirza, who
has built her career on being
a Muslim woman but whose
deadpan humor is unmistakably
British.
Pipe up or keep quiet?
Most comedy clubs and comedians
encourage a certain
amount of heckling. Be warned,
though, all good comics have
an armory of jokes designed
to put hecklers in their place.
They also have the advantage
of a microphone, leaving you
to shout over the crowd. As a
rule the meek chuckle at the
back, while the brave sit right at
the front and join in. The bravest
of the brave can go one
step further and do a comedy
course. Up the Creek offers a
weekend course tutored by a
headlining comedian for $240,
and gives you the chance to
perform on one of its showcase
SCANORAMA DECEMBER 2011/JANUARY 2012 63
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