Venue pulls the plug

London’s West End Comedy Club  has closed after three and a half years.

The venue had its final show on December 19, as its venue, the Covent Garden Social Club, has shut down as the landlord plans to redevelop the site into a pod hostel. 

The club ran four to five shows midweek shows a week, a mix of mixed-bill professional line-ups, Edinburgh Fringe previews, and alternative and themed nights.

Lewis Capaldi and YouTuber KSI have visited the club as audience members, while comics to have performed on its stage include  Romesh Ranganathan, Rich Hall, Maisie Adam and Harry Hill.

Less edifyingly, the police have been called to the club twice; once to deal with a rowdy audience member, and once to deal with a group who racially abused performer Benjamin Bello.

Promoter Liam Papa says the club was born after the Covid lockdowns 'out of frustration with ‘poor pay, lack of transparency and under-representation of women and minority groups in the industry'.

He thanked club staff and added: ‘A huge thank-you to everyone who’s supported us over the past three and a half years. 

‘When we launched in July 2021, we set out to tackle some of the comedy circuit’s biggest challenges in central London—like pay transparency and progression—and we’re proud to say those values have been at our core since day one.’

He added that the club will continue in some form at a new venue, but with fewer regular nights, as his business foucsses on other areas such as  touring, corporate events and content creation.

The West End Comedy Club booked more than 600 spots a year, employing over 200 comedians. It says 43 per cent of performers have been female in each of the past two years.

Published: 30 Dec 2024