Comedy club brand revived by comedian Kev Orkian

Jongleurs comedy clubs are making a comeback.

Comedian Kev Orkian has brought the brand and has planned a series of pop-up gigs next year.

Orkian's company Howlin’ Entertainment, already counts former Jongleurs managing director David Elphick, and booking agent Marilyn Nelson among its team, although he told Chortle Elphick will have no role in the new Jongleurs gigs.

Shows have been scheduled for next year at the Century Club in London, the Concorde Club in Southampton, the Highland Restaurant in Broxbourne and Queen’s Theatre Barnstaple.

Comics on the bills include former Jongleurs regulars such as Rudi Lickwood, Mike Gunn, Susan Murray and Kane Brown – as well as Orkian himself, who will be familiar to viewers of Britain’s Got Talent.

Jongleurs was once the biggest name in live comedy, but had a chequered history, finally going under in 2017 when the last company to be operating in it, Roving Ventures, went into administration.

Orkian, below, admitted the brand had suffered ‘a rocky few years’ but insisted it was now ‘back in safe hands’.

Scores of comedians were left out of pocket by the collapse of former operators, but Orkian said he wanted to rebook them for new jobs to rebuild trust.

In an interview with performers’ newspaper The Stage, he said: ‘My vision is to re-establish the brand to once again lead the comedy circuit as a club which lives and breathes what they originally stood for: providing great working conditions for acts, with well-managed shows, offering more opportunities for upcoming comics and sharing more diverse line ups, and of course, ultimately providing our audiences with the highest quality of comedy entertainment.’

Maria Kempinska founded the first Jongleurs in Battersea, South London in 1983.

In 2000, it had grown to a chain of eight and she and business partner John Davy sold them to Regent Inns for more than £7million

That company collapsed in 2009, with the rights to the brand name reverting to Kempinska and Davy. 

In 2011, nightclub operators Luminar, which were running Jongleurs clubs in 12 of their venues was put into administration. Several of the comedy clubs were subsequently closed.

Luminar was revived under a so-called ‘pre-pack’ arrangement so it could keep trading, and as struck a deal with fellow nightclub owners Momo to open more Jongleurs clubs. But Momo went bust in 2013.

In 2016, Jongleurs lost its licensing deal to run clubs in Camden, Birmingham, Reading and Watford, which were The Comedy Loft and then Just The Tonic.

Published: 11 Dec 2020