Live Comedy Day: Without the open mic comedy circuit, there’d be no Last One Laughing

Laughter might be the best medicine. But Britain has a peculiar way of showing it. Live comedy generates more than £1 billion for the UK economy each year, yet it still isn’t recognised as an art form alongside visual art, theatre or music. That means institutions like Arts Council England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport rarely support the clubs where comedians actually learn their craft. 

“That circuit is essential. They are the lifeblood of our whole industry,” says comedian Nish Kumar. “Without them, people wouldn’t be able to learn how to do the job.”

This disconnect is part of the impetus behind Live Comedy Day, a new annual event taking place on 1 April, set up by the Live Comedy Association in partnership with Radio 4. The initiative aims to celebrate the thousands of performers, promoters and small venues that keep Britain’s comedy scene alive, with a particular focus on the grassroots circuit.

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Make no mistake: these clubs were the training grounds for many of your favourite comedians, from Joe Lycett to Alan Carr and Fatiha El-Ghorri. As Jessica Toomey, who runs the Frog and Bucket comedy club in Manchester and is a member of the Live Comedy Association board, says: “I think of everyone who has come through the Frog and Bucket, like Lee Mack, John Bishop, Peter Kay and Caroline Aherne, and it is something I’m really, really proud of.”

That’s because a comedian’s trajectory goes something like this: when you’re starting out, you take open mic spots. From there come short sets at club nights, gradually building to paid gigs. Many comedians spend years on the road, often while juggling second jobs, refining their material. Only a very small number eventually make the leap to television or arena tours. But even when they do, those careers are built on countless nights in small clubs across the country. 

“The first five years of my career I was doing open mic nights, and then the second five years I was just gigging, gigging, gigging,” Kumar, who is also an ambassador for Live Comedy Day, explains.

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The comedians on series such as Last One Laughing and the UK version of Saturday Night Live would never have got there without the circuit.

“Everyone you see on TV will have gone through the grassroots circuit,” Toomey says. Still, venues like the Frog and Bucket have faced increased strain in recent years. “There’s still a hangover from Covid,” Toomey adds. Many are still struggling to get back to pre-pandemic numbers. 

“There is huge pressure on venues now,” Kumar says. “We’re living in a domino effect of the cost of living crisis. People can’t afford to go out. Landlords are charging astronomical rents. There are a lot of knock-on costs.”

It’s an issue for comedians starting out, too. Recent research from the UK Live Comedy Sector Survey found that comedians are earning less than ever from their live work. With the average annual salary falling from £26,778 to £21,143 last year, 74% of comedians now need additional income outside comedy. 

“It is an unpaid internship on the open mic circuit,” Kumar says. And it’s one that, increasingly, only those with financial support can afford to take on.

Live Comedy Day exists to give comedians and venues a vital boost, with events happening all across the country to help raise their profiles. 

One of those is Gobby Girls: The After Party, taking place at 4pm at Soho Theatre in London, followed by a joint event with Funny Women at the Live Comedy Store hosted by Shaparak Khorsandi in the evening. 

“Our double bill of gigs is there to fight for more opportunities for women in comedy,” says co-director and producer of Gobby Girls, Alex Hardy. “Still only 11% of UK sitcoms are written by women.”

“I hope the day will help us be taken more seriously as a sector,” Toomey says. Right now, if you’re applying for Arts Council funding for a comedy project, you “basically have to hide it under another art form… it’s much harder”. 

Kumar adds, “It would be great for the government to recognise stand-up as an art because there are huge economic benefits. It is a job creator, and it puts money into the economy.” 

Their message is clear: there’s no good reason for comedy gigs to be considered lesser than any other form of entertainment. It’s time to stand up for them.

Live Comedy Day takes place around the UK on 1 April

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