Alcohol and Comedy

I recently read an article on Chortle about the new Redemption comedy night, which is running what have been referred to as “dry” comedy nights – that is, comedy gigs without alcohol. I thought I may as well write a piece about my own experience of running a comedy night without alcohol.

In August of 2014, I entered into negotiations to start running a comedy night at Dar Papillon in Berkhamsted. Dar Papillon is a vegan café, owned and run by a woman who is a Muslim. Due to her religious beliefs, I was told that it would have to be, rather unconventionally, an alcohol-free night. This didn’t bother me, really; it was already an unconventional venue, after all - most gigs are in pubs or nightclubs, not vegan cafés. I was assured that we would be able to get an audience, as they had previously had a good audience there for variety nights, consisting of musicians, poets, and dancers, as well as authors talking about their work.

While planning for the night, we decided we’d use the venue – and stipulations regarding the venue – to our advantage. We marketed it as “the comedy club that’s different”, celebrating the fact that is was abnormal, rather than being put off by it. We then went about booking acts who were a bit different, to match the vibe. For example, on the first night, we had one act in the first half of the night that played the character of an African Dictator, President Obonjo. We then opened the second half with him being “himself”, bemoaning the fact that this character, his own creation, was taking over his life. It was different, absurd, and silly, but most importantly it was funny. As for the room itself, we decorated it with Chinese lanterns, bright multi-coloured cloth, and put little pots of nibbles around the room for acts and audience alike to help themselves to. All of the acts commented on how nice the room was, and how it was different from most venues they had played.

Before the first night, I was be told by a friend of mine that he’d overheard a comedian at an open mic night saying “comedy without alcohol? That can never work”. I also know an act that has fallen out with another act due to an argument over whether comedy can work without alcohol. I understand that lots of comedy nights – particularly those ran in rooms above pubs – rely on the extra income from drink sales to keep afloat, and in no way am I saying that alcohol should be banned from comedy, or anything absurd like that. I have done plenty of brilliant nights in rooms above pubs, and I understand completely how important alcohol can be in making many nights financially viable, especially when promoters are trying to convince landlords that they should host a comedy night at their venue. I also know that alcohol can help audiences relax, letting the laughs flow more freely. However, we all know that alcohol at comedy nights can turn audience members – and sometimes comedians – into disruptive morons who damage the night for everyone, so I guess it’s important to recognise that there are both pros and cons.

All I can say is this: we have run two nights at the venue so far (last October and November, respectively) and for both nights, we had a good audience who enjoyed the night; we had acts who had good gigs; and we made a profit on both nights (and after only charging £3 per ticket/£1.50 for concessions, and paying for a headliner). So, while some acts might think “you can’t have stand-up comedy without alcohol”, we managed it.

Comedy without alcohol? I’ll drink to that.