Comedy Clubs or Arena Shows?

I don’t know anyone who isn’t a fan of comedy. We all like to laugh and so we all like people who make us laugh. Before going to the Big Night Out comedy club, the only comedians I had seen where those who were lucky enough to perform in the O2.

So what can these comedy clubs offer me that an arena show can’t? When my friend and I entered the club, there was a certain ambience that you just won’t get in the larger venues, like the Apollo, or Wembley. It took forever and a day to be served at the bar, but you can’t blame the club itself for that. These are hard times, and not everyone can afford to employ the full amount of bar staff they need. The drinks themselves were great, if you drank from the “happy hour” cocktails. If not, be prepared to take out a second mortgage because those drinks are OVER PRICED (£4.90 for a Smirnoff Ice? Its lemonade!). The happy hour cocktails are nice though, and cheap, so that shouldn’t be a problem for many people.

The show itself was held in a small section of the club, with room for 50 people, 60 at a push. A venue like this one was made for hecklers, which did get a bit tiresome after a while. Don’t get me wrong, hecklers are entertaining, but we’ve all paid to see the comedians. At the show I went to, it was apparent who’d been at the bar all evening. One woman from the back yelled nonsense at everyone on stage, to the point where I wished someone would just throw her out. At larger shows, hecklers are less common, simply because no one would be able to hear them. That and the fact standing in front of a sold out O2 gives a performer a certain authority.

There is no such authority to be had in basement in London. Fortunately the performers came prepared, Rob Collins in particular. It takes true comedic skill to deal with a drunken heckler without so much as missing a beat, a skill you don’t see so much in larger shows.

As much as I enjoyed my night at the comedy club I wouldn’t pay the full price to go there. I got my tickets through a voucher site, so for me and a friend it cost £20. This included the show, a free drink each, a big back of Dorito’s to share and access to the “Disco” after the show. If I had paid the full price for all of this, I’d have been £68 poorer. It was a great night, but it wasn’t worth that much. That’s just my opinion though. Other people there probably did pay the full price, and will do again.

Leicester Square, Big Night Out Comedy Club.
Host : Chris Gilbert.
Set List: Phil Dinsdale
Rob Collins.
Bob Mills.
http://www.bignightout.info/LeicesterSquareComedy.html

That friend I mentioned happens to have a blog of her own, which any theatre lover should take the time to check out. Go go go!
http://westendepilogue.blogspot.co.uk/