Pittwater Life October 2023 Issue

Funny business after dark
STAND-UP FUN: Lewis Holt and wife Hannah; comedian Tom Orr on stage at 4 Pines Newport.
News
Did you hear the one about the man
bringing comedy to the Northern
Beaches, hoping to turn his ‘passion
project’ into a full-time job?
“I’m doing something that combines my
two loves in life: craft beer and comedy,”
explains entrepreneur and comic Lewis
Holt.
Surely the dream of a lot of people,
Lewis is slowly seeing his vision become
a reality, after successfully introducing
comedy nights to selected venues on the
peninsula. His business Canned Laughter
(a play on words for those two loves) may
eventually see Lewis laugh all the way to
the bank.
“The first event was in Avalon last
October, and since then it’s really taken
off,” explains Lewis. “We did six gigs in
May, at venues including Avalon Bowlo, 4
Pines in Newport, and Freshwater Brewing
in Brookvale.”
The idea came about after Lewis and a
friend from Avalon regularly travelled over
to Newtown on a Tuesday night in a bid to
get their own comedy careers started at an
open mic night.
“The crowd weren’t really a great comedy
crowd, and we just thought we could
do it a lot better. There seemed a gap in
the market on the Northern Beaches and
we wanted to see if they’d be into comedy
nights.
“And we wanted to give local comedians
a place to perform on the Beaches. And the
customers have loved it.”
Lewis arrived on the Beaches eight years
ago. Living in London, but with an Australian
father, he bought tickets to Sydney one
snowy day at work and hasn’t looked back.
Originally working in hospitality, he did a
Pilgrimage to the Edinburgh and Montreal
Comedy Festivals which gave him the
inspiration to move into comedy.
“I do a five-minute intro as the MC
and then we have five other comedians,”
explains Lewis. “We have a headline act
for 30 minutes, two comedians who are on
the verge of making it, and two up-andcoming
local acts.
“We had 120 people at Freshie Brewery
and that was too many people, so I’ve
capped that at 90. We had 80 at The Newport
and that felt good and intimate for
comedy. I aim for at least 60 people at any
night we hold.”
Lewis’ joint focus is on having fun and
supporting local artists, providing a venue
for them to perform on the Northern
Beaches. And bringing crowds on quiet
week nights means it a win-win for Lewis
and the various Northern Beaches venues
involved.
More nights and venues are planned, but
perhaps not yet showing some of Lewis’
heroes.
“Watching Mike Myers and Jim Carrey in
their early films was what first made me
fall in love with comedy. In terms of standup
I don’t think there’s anyone better than
Dave Schapelle.
“And I like the English comedian Mickey
Flanagan… I saw him for 10 pounds years
ago at a North London comedy club. I also
saw Ricky Gervais booed off stage at the
same club, after he did a 20-minute routine
about Princess Diana.”
Lewis himself does observational comedy
and one-liners. He would eventually
like to move into the storytelling arena of
comedy, which takes a lot of experience.
Alongside working part-time and running
Canned Laughter, he has one other
important job.
“I’m following the Seinfeld technique
of making sure I write one joke a day,” he
said.
Without giving anything away, the gag
Lewis wrote on the day of our interview
was a cracker. Find out what those jokes
are at 4 Pines Newport (October 4) or the
Avalon Bowlo (October 19). – Rob Pegley
*Tickets and info cannedlaughter.com.au
24 OCTOBER 2023
The Local Voice Since 1991