Sydney Comedy (Store) In Turmoil!!
Posted by fridgy on July 22, 2008
Hey folks!
It’s been a while since I posted last because I’ve been busy. And by ‘busy’ I mean ‘lazy’.
Have you heard about the Sydney Comedy Store!?!? If not, keep reading… (I’m sure you were going to anyways)
It’s probably Sydney’s most prestigious comedy venue. It’s been around for many years. The venue which generally plays host to the country’s (and planet’s) finest acts, as well as giving us Sydney comics a regular place to perform be it open mic, new comics, comics wanting to do a short spot to try out new material, or MC and support spots. When I tell someone I’m a standup comedian the first thing they always ask (other than “can you tell me one of your jokes?” grrrrrr) is “do you perform at the Comedy Store?”. I guess by now you get the picture, it’s a great venue. Here’s the bad news:
It’s CLOSING DOWN! Recently the Comedy Store opened a new venue in Parramatta to give people in Sydney’s West another option when it came to heading out for a ‘beer and a laugh’ (no doubt after seeing how successful the Parramatta Laugh Garage had become), yet from all reports and the nights I performed there, it struggled to get people through the door. One night I played at the PCS, I didn’t even use a microphone as there were 5 people in the crowd and it was easier to just talk to them intimately. I’m guessing it’s due to the lack of punters and that whole thing called ‘money’ which caused the big dramas there, and while disappointing it didn’t come as a HUGE surprise to see them throw the towel in on the Parramatta venue. However I (and other comics I’ve already spoken to) certainly didn’t see what was coming next – the Sydney (Moore Park) venue closing down!! This comes only a few weeks after The Harold Park Hotel closed its doors for comedy as well.
I have to say how shitty this is. What is happening to comedy in this city!? I have only been doing stand-up in Sydney for about 7 months (I started doing comedy in Perth and that’s where most of my experience is from) but I have noticed what little support live stand-up comedy gets here!! I played the Manly Boatshed last night (Monday 21st July) and there were no more than 20 people there. And yes it was a battle. A battle to get laughs, a battle to win the crowd over, and a battle to feel like I had delivered something for the $8 entry they had paid! (Fortunately I DID eventually win the crowd over after working my tits off!!!) A-List comedy (www.alist.com.au) do a great job promoting comedy and showcasing great acts as do many other great promoters / venues, yet for some reason people in Sydney seem too spoilt to want to come along to comedy nights.
In Perth, (and this isn’t a dig at Perth, but) comedy clubs would pack out perhaps because there just isn’t much else to do. Here in Sydney, I don’t know if it’s because we have so many different sporting events, there are always great bands here, or maybe because we have other attractions like pokies and Kings Cross – whatever it is, this city is quickly going to become the 3rd or 4th best city for stand-up comedy in Australia. People already claim it to be Melbourne, and who can disagree now. Brisbane, Adelaide and even Perth seem to be more successful when it comes to the ol’ business of dickheads like us getting on stage to make random strangers laugh.
Jesus, I just read over this post and I sound like John Laws on his period. Anyways, that’s my rant – you get the point.
Thanks for reading this post! Have a great day and for God’s sake, please go out and see some comedy tonight!!
PS – I used more commas and punctuation in this post than I ever have in any other post before!! Yay for commas!
Done.
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2 Responses to “Sydney Comedy (Store) In Turmoil!!”
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So does that mean you’re out of work nowadays?
If so I’m looking for somebody to run my latest string of girls in London, if you’re up for it – call me.
The guv.
I agreee with the demise of comedy in Sydney. I live in Chicago and the scene here is thriving, with new comedy clubs popping up giving newcomers a start and venues big enough to host large acts. Get your arse to the states!