After almost 5,000 people voted in a free vote, with no nominees to pick from, independent venue Komedia came out top in the Chortle Awards last week.
Their monthly fast-paced, friendly night of hand-picked rising comedy stars, Comic Boom comedy club, scooped Best Open Spot Comedy Night (The South & East). Catch the show on the last Thursday of every month.
Komedia are in good company, other regional winners of the ‘Best Comedy Venue’ title include The Bill Murray (London), Birmingham Glee (Midlands), Cardiff Glee (Wales and the West), Frog & Bucket Manchester (The North), and Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh (Scotland).
General Manager Jamie Patterson says:
“We’re so happy to have won this year’s Best Venue award – as a long-standing independent venue we’re never complacent and always trying to keep the comedy fresh and exciting. We think the night out that we offer is still one of the best ways you can spend an evening, and we’re so glad that you all think so too!”
The win marks the 20th Chortle award win for the venue since the awards began in 2002, including 17 wins for Best Venue/Best Comedy Venue as well as multiple awards for their various comedy events including Bent Double and Down the Hatch.
Starting out from humble beginnings at a former billiard hall in Kemptown in 1994, Komedia was born from the minds of the directors of ‘Umbrella Theatre’, Colin Granger, Marina Kobler, and David Lavender. The company modelled the venue on the cabaret theatres they had seen while touring in cities such as Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Berlin.
Komedia’s first season saw many brilliant new talents hit the stage for the first time, including the likes of Graham Norton, Al Murray, Mel and Sue, Sean Lock, Mel & Sue, Armstrong & Miller, The League of Gentlemen and Omid Djalili.
Komedia soon outgrew the Manchester Street venue and moved to their current home (a former Tesco) on Gardner Street in 1998. The venue has attracted a variety of established and up-and-coming acts over the years, often acting as launchpad for new talent. Comedy acts have included: Stewart Lee, Ross Noble, Alan Carr, Harry Hill, The Mighty Boosh, Johnny Vegas, Sindhu Vee, Russell Howard, John Bishop, Lee Mack, Jimmy Carr, Michael Mcintyre, Micky Flanagan, Rob Beckett, Alex Horne, Rob Delaney, Eddie Izzard, Greg Davies, Flight of the Conchords, Jack Whitehall, Dara O’Briain, Sarah Millican, Bridget Christie, Armando Ianucci, Zoe Lyons, Maisie Adams and Jen Brister.
Support your local venue by heading down to Komedia to enjoy one of over 700 events a year. Upcoming comedy highlights include their weekly night of cutting-edge comedy Komedia Comedy Club every Friday and Saturday, as well as shows from Abi Clarke, Nish Kumar, Horatio Gould, Scummy Mummies, Chloe Petts, Jazz Emu, He Huang, Josh Baulf, Mark Watson, Stephen Bailey, John Roberton, Stephen K Amos and more.
To find out what’s on and to book tickets, head to Komedia’s website here.
