London gets outdoor comedy gigs

Two seasons of events announced

Two series of open-air comedy nights have been announced in South London.

Battersea Arts Centre is running gigs in it courtyard from July 27, featuring the likes of Russell Howard, Iain Stirling, Phil Wang, Lou Sanders and Paul Chowdhry. Tickets are available here.

Meanwhile, another string of comedy nights, including performances by improv musical troupe Showstoppers!, have been announced as part of a month-long open-air festival

The New Normal Festival will run through August, and will also include stand-up from the Good Ship comedy club, ComedyClub4Kids, other improv groups, and a double bill from Natasha Barnes and Vikki Stone as well as theatre and other events.

Performances will take place in the walled courtyard at the Grade II Listed Royal Victoria Patriotic Building in Wandsworth.

Event curator Sean Turner said he decided to put together the festival follows the Government announcement earlier this month allowing open-air performances with social distancing. Today the return of indoor gigs from August 1 was given a cautious green light, too.

Turner said: ‘I am absolutely over the moon to be able to offer an opportunity to all these incredible artists after such a tough few months.

‘I’ve always wanted to use this gorgeous space for something like this so when [Culture Secretary] Oliver Dowden said ‘Go for it.’ to open air theatres, I leapt at the chance!’

Capacity will be reduced in the space, with chairs laid out for each group that arrives as a separate ‘bubble’. The below picture shows a performance before social distancing.

New Normal festival