50 hours of stand-up
New York comics set new record
Comedians in New York are currently setting a new world record for the longest ever stand-up show.Around 100 comics are performing at the 50-hour show at the Comic Strip Live, which started on Tuesday night.
Compere William Stephenson, pictured vowed to stay awake all 50 hours, but said things were becoming difficult at 6am on Wednesday
‘That's just not a time for comedy. Either you've been up all night and you're tired or you've got up too early and you're tired,’ he told Reuters.
About 25 people were watching the show over their breakfast. The show is free to enter during the day – with free coffee and Red Bull on tap to help the audience stay awake.
The show, which is raising money for wounded US servicemen and women, is the latest in a number of recent marathon comedy sessions.
Mark Watson has become known for his lengthy festival show – the longest coming in at 36 hours – and US comic Dave Chappelle last year set a record for the longest comedy club set, at six hours and 12 minutes.
At the 2006 Melbourne Comedy Festival, 78 comics ran a show that lasted for 53 hours 11 minutes, but it’s not thought this was officially verified by Guinness World Record officials.
The New York attempt comes to an end at 10.30pm local time on Thursday.
Published: 4 Jun 2008
