Filling the Jongleurs void

Nottingham is to get a new purpose-built comedy club to fill the gap after Jongleurs pulled out of the city.

Just The Tonic, which has been operating in the city since 1994, will get its own permanent 300-seater home from March.

Jongleurs suddenly closed its branches in Nottingham and four other cities last month as owners Regent Inns went into pre-pack administration – sparking a major shake-up in the comedy club industry.

New owners Intertain – run by Regent’s former management team – have lost control of the Jongleurs brand name, which means the remaining ten venues will be rebranded in January.

Meanwhile, Maria Kempinska and John Davy, who founded the chain, plan to open almost 30 venues using the Jongleurs name in the next two years. Yesterday, Davy told pub trade newspaper the Morning Advertiser that he was looking to hook up with a major bar chain to help grow the new empire.

He said: ‘We are in talks with a couple of major pubcos at the moment with a view to either franchising the brand for sole operators, or offering a larger UK or territory licence.’

The new Nottingham club will be partly funded by the proceeds of two fundraising nights held in London in 2005, when Just The Tonic lost its old home. Ricky Gervais, Jimmy Carr, Russell Brand and Stewart Lee were among those who took part.

Since then, the club has simply been running in Nottingham’s The Approach pub – as well as nights in London’s Leicester Square Theatre. Promoter Darrell Martin admits questions had been asked about the profits from those gigs.

He said: ‘It's good to finally be able to do this. Those people who helped me in London – in what has been described as The Biggest Scam in Comedy – I can now look in the face without thinking that they’re thinking “Oh yes... where's that money then?”

Martin, who attracted criticism after organising a party to celebrate Jongleurs' demise, refused to be drawn on the exact level of investment in the venue, saying only: ‘This is costing all the money I have and more. There are loads of people likely to lose everything they have, children will starve and vulnerable groups will suffer. So, for that reason alone, the public should attend. Oh yes... and it will be a brilliant, brilliant comedy club.’

The venue will be in the city centre, and operate a mixed-bill line-up, followed by a nightclub, on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays with touring shows and other entertainment on the other nights. By replacing the planned cabaret seating with a theatre-style set-up, Martin, who will compere the clubs, says the venue will be able to hold 500.

He added: ‘We are aiming to launch in March. It's going to be good for comedy, good for Nottingham and hopefully it'll be good for me... at least I'll get booked!'

Published: 27 Nov 2009