Stars' private club opens to comedy

Its members include Jade Jagger, Kate Moss and Malcolm McLaren, but now one of London's plushest private members clubs is to host a comedy club - set up by Marianne Faithfull's daughter-in-law

The Cobden Club, named after a philanthropist MP who helped repeal the Corn Laws, is a far cry from the down-at-heel room above a pub often associated in stand-up.

Built in the 1870s as a venue to promote art and entertainment for the working man, the club, in fashionable Westbourne Park, is now a hang-out for fashionistas and the literatti.

Now Carole Jahme, an actress turned evolutionary scientist turned comedian, is throwing open the normally closed doors to comedy audiences.

She said: "When my youngest son went to nursery I decided the time had come to take up stand-up comedy, but I soon noticed that many of the comedy venues were dark, dingy and depressing.

"Maybe it's because I'm a woman, but I felt that comics and audiences needed a far more comfortable and inspiring venue, so I decided to start Cobden Comedy."

Jahme is staging the gigs in the venue's neo-Gothic Grand Hall every month, starting on April 6.

But the club is so exclusive, audiences need to have their name on the guest list to attend. Full details are on the club's official website: www.cobdencomedy.co.uk to find out more.

Published: 23 Mar 2003