Comedian Andrew Doyle performing at Comedy Unleashed’s Backyard Comedy Club, Bethnal Green. Photo Stuart Mitchell, Inc. Monocle.
Comedy Unleashed – a home for those who leave self-censorship at the door – has finally made it to Manchester. Workers interviews the Manchester residents who worked to make it happen…
Comedy Unleashed first came to Manchester in June of this year and quickly sold out. The city can now expect to enjoy regular Comedy Unleashed nights out.
This happened through the hard work and determination of a small group of local residents.
Comedy Unleashed was started in 2017 by Andrew Doyle and Andy Shaw, both stand-up comedians and writers. Their purpose was to counter the growing trend where comedians are either being cancelled and losing income or were self-censoring to stay in work, with a negative impact on the art.
Fast forward to November 2023 when Andy Shaw was a speaker at the Battle of Ideas Festival in Buxton. Four Manchester residents – Cath, Lee, Danny and Steve – independently approached him and asked for Comedy Unleashed to come to Manchester.
Encouraged
Andy explained the huge amount of work involved in launching such an event – and that he had a day job! But he kept their details, put them in touch with one another after the festival and encouraged them to look for a city centre venue to host a one-off gig. A year later Izzy, another Manchester resident, approached Comedy Unleashed with the same request and Andy put her in touch with the others.
Workers met with the group plus their newest member, Garcia, in August to find out more about what they had done.
Workers: Why did you want Comedy Unleashed to come to Manchester?
Steve: I’d watched clips from their gigs on-line and enjoyed their brand of free-thinking comedy. For me, too many comedians have become boring and tame. I appreciate that not everyone thinks so, but I do.
Lee: I go to the Manchester comedy clubs too. I have seen some good acts, but they are in the minority. Four or five years ago I started watching Comedy Unleashed videos online, and couldn’t believe how good it was. What a relief from those on the television telling jokes about the Tories and Trump. It was as if I had found a cool new band no one had ever heard of.
Danny: I’m impressed with the ethos – Comedy Unleashed will put on comedians that have been cancelled so that the audience gets to decide what’s funny. If something’s funny – it’s funny. If someone is just nasty, people won’t be amused.
Izzy: Lots of previously “anti-establishment” comedians are now part of the establishment. They all make similar jokes and it’s become boring.
Workers: How did you manage to get Comedy Unleashed to Manchester?
Cath: It was hard work. We approached so many venues that I put together a spreadsheet so that we could keep track of outright refusals, ones we were still chasing and those that we’d given up on. In total, we looked at over 30 venues. Straight off, some weren’t suitable for an audience of over 150. We engaged with 17, which included having an initial conversation, maybe getting a quote, a further reccy but for various reasons none of them materialised.
Lee: I even approached the old Bernard Manning club. It was a possibility but isn’t in the city centre.
Steve: Izzy found the club called Impossible and got a positive response – and then had to go on holiday! But we got there. It’s a brilliant venue. The atmosphere is great.
Workers: Did you expect it to take 18 months to get the first gig off the ground?
‘The purpose was to counter the growing trend where comedians are either being cancelled or losing income…’
Steve: Finding the venue was the first step. The next was to make sure they’d stick with us if they came under pressure from people opposed to what they are trying to do. Two venues pulled out at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe for example, so we told Impossible that the line-up for the gig was Andrew Doyle, Graham Linehan, Leo Kearse and Andrew Lawrence – four artists seen as the most contentious – just to check that they wouldn’t back out.
Cath: A minimum of about 150 tickets needs to be sold just to break even, so it was crucial that we pulled out all the stops to publicise the event. It was such a relief that it sold out. The July event was also a success. There’s a break in August and then monthly events planned from September.
Steve: Comedy Unleashed book the acts for each gig but we share out the work on the ground – the comedians’ transport, hotels and pay, of course. I tackle much of that. I’m learning to deal with artist types that (to me) are extraordinarily disorganised! That’s been a real learning curve for me. There’s also the job of being on the door and taking tickets. The venue has its own security, so we don’t need to worry about that.
Izzy: We also deal with the sound and lighting. I asked Garcia to join us as she knows her way around the tech.
Garcia: That has been a steep learning curve too. At one point we had to borrow an iPhone from an audience member, but we are doing it and it’s fun.
Workers: Comedy Unleashed has been established in London for several years now, but there are also monthly events in Leeds. Were they set up by a similar group?
Lee: No, the Leeds venue approached Comedy Unleashed so that didn’t need the initial legwork. We’ve shown that it’s possible to get a Comedy Unleashed club going in any city. It’s up to others now to take up the baton if they want Comedy Unleashed in their city or town.
• Comedy Unleashed is in Manchester on 5 September, Leeds on 6 September and London on 10 September.