Fancy a cheap laugh?

Simon Amstell for £6? Daniel Kitson for £7? Cut-price stand-up shows are cropping up all over as big names book themselves into small venues to roadtest new material. Here's how to bag a comedy bargain
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21 March 2012

Stand-up is big business these days. And big business means big ticket prices. When American comedy legend Jerry Seinfeld played the O2 Arena last June tickets cost up to £100. But some fans bagged a bargain. They were at the Comedy Store, off Piccadilly Circus, earlier that week when Seinfeld popped in to roadtest his routines. They got the gig of their lives for about £10. Play your cards right and you could, too.

Low-key, low-price gigs have become a major trend in recent months. And they aren’t just great value for the show-goers. For comedians, it is worth cutting the cost and reaping the longer-term benefits. A guitarist can practise at home. An actor can learn their lines in bed. A comedian does not know if a joke is humorous until he or she has told it in front of a live audience. So they practise in London’s pubs and fringe theatres — which have smaller capacities than the arenas and stadiums on their upcoming tours and allow for more interaction with the audience.

Simon Amstell will ask for feedback from his fans in the middle of his set, and sketch acts such as Armstrong & Miller will recite from scripts they wrote on the morning of the show.

For Al Murray, who is setting out on a major tour in the autumn, clandestine previews hold a particular charm: “Warm-ups somewhere small are great for getting your mojo back after a long time off. I don’t like charging a large theatre audience full whack for stuff I don’t know yet — you can bully a smaller room who’ve just paid a fiver with a clearer conscience.” During The Pub Landlord’s gig at Theatre503 in Battersea in 2009, I was so close to the stage that he spilt his beer over me.

When I saw Ricky Gervais do a warm-up at the 395-seat artsdepot in Finchley, he admitted his gags “wouldn’t all be zingers”. Jokes that did not fly were dropped. The show might not be as slick as the finished product. But in return you get a unique experience and access to exclusive material that may never be heard again.

The challenge with stand-up is that you are only as good as your last punchline. New comedians get about 30 seconds’ grace, a star will have a little more leeway. But if they have not made the audience laugh within a minute they can struggle, too. A Harry Hill cameo on the Tattershall Castle (a bar on a boat, moored on the Thames) once went so badly I thought the crowd might make him walk the plank.

If you live close to your favourite funny man or woman keep an eye out at your local. Comedians often nip into their nearest venue so that their dinner does not get cold. West Londoner Rob Brydon has guested at Headliners in Chiswick. Frank Skinner gigged at the Hampstead Comedy Club, in a 95-seater room below the Washington pub in Belsize Park. Gervais prepares for his global megatours at the Bloomsbury Theatre, relatively close to his Hampstead home, because of a nostalgic link. He used to attend lectures there as a London University philosophy student.

Unlike official tours, there is usually little publicity for warm-up shows. So do the research. Follow your heroes on Twitter, where acts tip off followers, and sign up to mailing lists.

You have to act quickly to beat not just other fans but touts and even agencies which operate legally but spoil the fun and bump up the prices.

If you are snappy you will not just get a bargain but a night to remember for the price of a few beers. What have you got to lose?

Low-cost comedy

The former Never Mind the Buzzcocks host puts the finishing touches to his latest neurotic masterwork before hitting the road. Tomorrow and March 26, 28, 29, Invisible Dot, NW1 (020 7424 8918, theinvisibledot.com); £6

Even stand-up’s undisputed top dog has to start somewhere. This entire venue is probably smaller than the O2 Arena dressing room he will be using in the autumn. Tomorrow, Friday and March 23, 30, 31, Leicester Square Theatre, WC2 (08448 733433, leicestersquaretheatre.com); £10

Daniel Kitson

The UK’s finest comedian’s comedian and also the most publicity-shy road tests new material. Kitson is so bashful his picture does not even feature on the venue’s website. Tonight-Friday, Soho Theatre, W1 (020 7478 0100, sohotheatre.com); £5

Actor, novelist, I’m A Celebrity ... survivor returns to what she does best with a low-key try-out. Tomorrow, Hen and Chickens, N1 (020 7354 8246, thehenandchickens theatrebar.co.uk); £7

The Pub Landlord will be playing the UK’s biggest venues on his The Only Way is Epic tour from June, but at these Chiswick previews you can laugh and also see the veins popping on his head. March 28-30, Tabard Theatre, W14 (020 8995 6035, tabardtheatre.co.uk); £8

The musical comic maestro spends most of his time in arenas these days but he regularly gets his juices flowing first in Leicester Square. March 29, Leicester Square Theatre, WC2 (08448 733433, leicestersquaretheatre.com); £15

Sean Lock

TV’s Mr 8 Out Of 10 Cats reconnects with the in-your-face club crowd with a run of gigs in the modest Islington branch of the iconic Edinburgh Festival venue. April 16, 18, 30 then June 8, 9, 18, The Pleasance, N7 (020 7609 1800, pleasance.co.uk); £7.50

Micky Flanagan

The ex-Billingsgate porter sold out a residency at the Garrick Theatre down the road from here last year, but this time will be fishing for giggles in this small room. June 25-30, Soho Theatre, W1 (020 7478 0100, sohotheatre.com); £12.50

Jenny Eclair

Outrageously grumpy woman whose career is nothing to be grumpy about is going on her biggest tour yet in the autumn and is trying out her quips. July 2 and 30, Hen and Chickens, N1 (020 7354 8246, thehen andchickenstheatrebar.co.uk); £7

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