Protect stand up comedy in the West End
London is Funny is backing a petition put together by West End comedy club owners to reinstate flyering in the area. Westminster Council has clamped down on the practice, and well-run, respected comedy clubs that rely on flyering are suffering as a direct result.
Below is the petition, please read it through and sign at the bottom giving a reason if you wish. Hopefully with enough support, the council will see sense and hand a lifeline to excellent clubs such as Just the Tonic, 99 Club and Soho Comedy Club.
Did you know that Westminster Council is forcing up the cost and driving down the quality of stand up comedy shows in London’s West End?
Right now, the UK leads the world in comedy and the centre of the UK comedy scene is London ’s West End.
Westminster Council, which controls the West End , has essentially banned flyering by threatening to take away the licences of comedy show venues that use flyerers. The police have told us that this is not law. But the threat to venues of having to spend tens of thousands of pounds in legal fees to retain their licences has coerced them into cooperating with the council.
This has led to the perverse situation that there are actually more flyerers now than a year ago, but they are all from a single (dreadful) club that operates out of the Thistle hotel because hotels have different licences.
A flyering ban is bad for everyone. Tourists lose out because no one is allowed to tell them what is on offer. Businesses lose out because people can’t find what they want in Leicester Square and go elsewhere, making the area less of a destination. And comedians lose out because there are fewer gigs at which to hone their craft because comedy shows are going out of business. For the surviving clubs, it means that they can no longer top up their audiences through flyering, which means higher advertising costs and less revenue forcing them to raise prices and cut pay.
Flyering is a life and death issue for small clubs that are just starting up. Already three new clubs have died because of the de facto flyering ban and there will be no replacements. It is on this circuit that comedians such as Eddie Izzard, Omid Djalili, Jo Brand, Al Murray, Lee Evans and Michael McIntyre got their start.
Finally, the ban is putting comedians, flyerers and venue staff out of work during a recession.
What you can do to help
Please send a letter or an email of complaint to the following:
- Brian Connell, conservative, chairman of licensing
bconnell@westminster.gov.uk - Louise Hyams, conservative, ward of St James
lhyams@westminster.gov.uk - Tim Mitchell, conservative, ward of St James
tmitchell@westminster.gov.uk - Cameron Thomson, conservative, ward of St James
cthomson@westminster.gov.uk
Postal address:
P.O. Box 240
Westminster City Hall
64 Victoria Street
London
SW1E 6QP
Points to mention in email or letter:
- It is an outrage that Westminster Council is forcing new comedy clubs out of business while giving a flyering monopoly to one club.
- Responsible flyering provides a service to the public by giving information about the entertainment available, which has enabled the West End to be the hotbed of arts and entertainment that it is.
- Leicester Square benefits from having information available and would suffer in the medium and long term from a continued flyering ban by hurting surviving comedy clubs and stopping new clubs from starting.
- Westminster Council is putting flyerers, comedians and venue staff out of work during a recession.
Reputable comedy clubs that have been hurt
Monday
Soho Comedy Club, Round Table, St Martin ’s Court 8pm £7, E
We Love Comedy, Blue Posts, Rupert Street , 8pm £7, M
99 Club, Ku Bar, 30 Lisle Street, WC2H 7BA, 8pm £10, E
Tuesday
West End Comedy Club, Comedy Pub, 7 Oxendon St, SW1Y 4EE , £8, M
99 Club, Storm Nightclub, 28a Leicester Square , 8.30pm (Tues-Sun) £16, E
Wednesday
Not the One, Queens Head, Denman St , W1D 7HN , 8pm, £3, N
Thursday
Soho Comedy Club, Comedy Pub, 7 Oxendon St, SW1Y 4EE , 8pm, £10, E
We Love Comedy, Queen’s Head, Denman St, W1D 7HN , 8pm, Free, N
Friday
Comedy Carnival, Sound, 1 Leicester Square , 8pm, £12, E
Just the Tonic, Leicester Square Theatre, 6 Leicester Place, WC2H 7BX, 9:20pm, £10, E
Soho Comedy Club, Comedy Pub, 7 Oxendon St, SW1Y 4EE , 8pm, £10, E
Saturday
Just the Tonic, Leicester Square Theatre, 6 Leicester Place, WC2H 7BX , 9:20pm, £15, E
Soho Comedy Club, Comedy Pub, 7 Oxendon St, SW1Y 4EE , 8pm, £10, E
Sunday
Comedy Circus, Comedy Pub, 7 Oxendon St, SW1Y 4EE , 8pm, £5, S
Melange, Comedy Pub, 7 Oxendon St, SW1Y 4EE , 8pm, £5, C
Legend
E = established high-quality comedy
M = mixed quality
N = new act night
S = sketch
V = variety show
Please mention our campaign at the door – many venues will offer a discount if you mention this campaign.
RIP
Boom Boom Room Comedy E
Funny HaHa Comedy Club M
West End Comedy Mondays and Wednesdays M
Sign the petition
Signatures
The current situation is an outrageous injustice and abuse of power. Not only that, it is being counter productive. It is a failure on every level.
I see comedy all the time as well as do it myself sometimes and it is horrific that the best comedy clubs are now only half full and suffering. The huge comedy scene is one of the greatest things about London, we are known for it all over the world - and it is being strangled by Westminster. Please don't allow it to shrivel up and die. Stop prostitution, illegal cab drivers and drugs - not comedy!!!
My friend is a stand-up comedian who is also involved in promoting events/comedy clubs and I think in this age of recession it's shocking that a law has been passed that stops clubs (who may already be struggling due to economic climate) flyering to passing trade and that these people who are passing are missing out on a good night of good value because of a draconian law rushed through by out-of-touch ministers. This leaves the internet the main avenue of promotion which is discriminatory in itself as not everyone has ready and convenient access to the web; in addition ...
I come to London gigging weekly, and decent clubs will fall by the wayside - not only affecting the lives of those who run them, but also earning potential for those playing them.
The flyering ban is not legal and stopped comedy clubs from getting audiences, apart from the one aggressively flyering club which was the one causing the complaints in the first place!!
Don't kill the comedy circuit which London is famous for!
This ban is an absolute disgrace and surely illegal. Lift the ban and allow knowledge of affordable quality entertainment to reach an audience.
As a open-mic stand-up, I was sometimes required to flyer for a club to get audience members to come watch.
While this may have been daunting and humiliating to some comics, I relished at the chance to freely hone my socialising skills with the public before going on stage, which in turn encouraged them to consider coming to the show, my set later was great and a great night was had by all.
Flyering has proven that west end visitors will act spontaneously and attend a comedy show which is good for stimulating the local economy.
I am a comedian and promoter of We Love Comedy, a Soho based comedy night.
Killing local businesses that draw people to an area and give it character is not a smart move.
An ill-conceived policy executed badly in an opaque environment. This has had a negative impact on cultural life in the West End and brought the council into disrepute by giving the appearance of certain council officials acting outside their appropriate authority in a way which benefits interests of the businessman operating from the Thistle hotel. The council needs to start acting in an appropriate manner maintaining a dialogue with arts organisations and all stakeholders and acting more like public servants with an appropriate regard for the law and proper procedure.
I don't understand why some promoters are allowed to flyer while others aren't.
I LIKE THE CLUB ITS A GREAT FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT FOR COMICS TO SHOW THEIR WORK NOTHING LIKE A LIVE AUDINENCE AND NOTHING LIKE A GOOD COMIC
I've often heard that for a tourist, being flyered in the West End is a quintessential part of the experience.
The flyering activities of smaller clubs is the best and most fun way for visitors to get a genuine sense of the entire gamut of performances at their fingertips.
I have just returned from New York and in Times Square, day or night, there are people flyering for at least 10 comedy clubs at any one time.
It's seen as part of the culture of the area, comedy shows are viewed in the same way theatre shows are viewed. Westminster Councils perception of "flyering" and the way that it is carried out is at best out dated and at worst unfounded.
Citing a few complaints from people who have their own agenda to push is no way to try and enforce draconian laws that discriminate against one particular ...
Having worked for this council I know what a money grubbing shambles it is. Best of luck.
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