The Comedy Store brings stand-up to cinemas nationwide
You've no doubt heard of The Comedy Store. Founded in 1979 and situated in the heart of London, the club helped the 'alternative comedy' boom of the 1980s get underway and has seen pretty much every big name stand-up star appear on its stage since. The club is still going from strength-to-strength, with Time Out labelling it not too long ago as "the greatest and most influential comedy club on the planet."
The Comedy Store's latest venture is to try bringing stand-up to the cinema. Realising not everyone can get to their late night London and Manchester club nights, The Comedy Store has teamed up with Sony Digital Cinema to release four feature-length shows which have been filmed as live from its venue in the capital.
The Comedy Store: Raw & Uncut will give audiences for the first-time the opportunity to enjoy the very best in comedy from London's legendary home of stand-up in the comfort of their local cinema. The first instalment will be launched in cinemas on Friday 22nd February 2013, with the remaining three shows following in fortnightly intervals.
A spokesperson for the new venture says: "It's fresh, new and hilarious and will showcase 20 of the funniest names on the thriving British comedy circuit."
The comedians featured are some of the most experienced from the live circuit, many of them each with decades of club night experience behind them. Those featured include circuit veterans like Paul Tonkinson, Mike Gunn, Adam Bloom, Mick Ferry and Ian Stone.
No one is quite sure how it's going to go as it's never been tried before, but the idea of laughing with others in a cinema has worked rather well for films, so it doesn't seem a big step to think it'll be a success for stand-up too.
Below is the trailer for Raw & Uncut:
Here's the line-ups for each of the four shows...
Friday 22nd February 2013
Paul Tonkinson (MC)
Louis Ramey
Friday 8th March 2013
Roger Monkhouse (MC)
Friday 22nd March 2013
Paul Thorne (MC)
Friday 5th April 2013
Mick Ferry (MC)
So which cinemas are involved in The Comedy Store: Raw & Uncut then? Well - deep breath - Raw & Uncut will be screened on the Fridays listed above in Aberdeen, Aldershot, Altrincham, Ashford, Ashton Under Lyne, Basingstoke, Bedford, Bexleyheath, Birmingham, Bluewater, Bolton, Bolton Tyne & Wear, Bradford, Braintree, Bridgend, Brighton, Bristol, Bromborough, Burton On Trent, Bury, Bury St Edmunds, Camberley, Cambridge, Cardiff, Carmarthen, Castlebar, Castleford, Cheltenham, Cheshire Oaks, Chester, Chesterfield, Chichester, Coventry, Crawley, Derby, Didsbury, Dublin, Dudley, Dundee, Dundrum, Dungarvan, Eastbourne, Eastleigh, Edinburgh, Exeter, Falkirk, Glasgow, Gloucester, Gorey, Hamilton, Harlow, High Wycombe, Hull, Huntington, Ipswich, Isle of Wight, Jersey, Leamington Spa, Leeds, Bradford, Leicester, Leigh, Liverpool, Llandudno Junction, London, Luton, Manchester, Middlesborough, Milton Keynes, Newbury, Newport, Northampton, Norwich, Nottingham, Paisley, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Rochester, Romford, Rugby, Runcorn, Sheffield, Shrewsbury, Solihull, Southampton, St. Helens, Stevenage, Stockport, Stoke, Swansea, Swords, Teesside, Telford, Thanet, Thurrock, Wakefield, Walsall, Weymouth, Wolverhampton, Worcester and Yeovil.
To find out more, and for links to book tickets, visit the official website: www.comedystorerawanduncut.com
See Also: Our 2011 interview with Comedy Store founder Don Ward. Read