Back to Basics: Hosting comedy

Heard the one about the pub that hosted comedy? It pulled in the punters and made a barrel (o' laughs) full of money.More and more pubs are turning to stand-up comedians to give themselves a point of difference so it's high time to find out what makes comedy tick.

Kathleen Hutchison is Paramount Comedy's head of new comedy and is a judge for the Magners Pub Comedy Awards, being held this year in association with The Publican.

'Spiky' Mike is head of Funhouse Comedy, an agency behind comedy in 20 venues in the Midlands. They suggest the following four steps to comedy success:

1 Recruit the comedians

Mike claims that going through an agency, despite the commission you will pay, is actually more cost-effective than recruiting a comedian yourself.

"Pubs that try to do it themselves end up backing rubbish comedians or paying them over the odds because they don't have someone experienced to negotiate for them," he says.

An agent will either charge you a fixed fee or take a percentage of the ticket takings. Other agencies include Mirth Control, Off the Curb and Avalon.

Kathleen, on the other hand, believes finding the comedians can be done by a member of staff - as long as they are dedicated. She says: "You need someone who believes in it, and you need to give them time to get to know the circuit. It's a lot of work."

An agency will pick out appropriate comedians, depending on your pub.

Mike has a policy of seeing acts a number of times before he books them. For a pub's first event, he will book a comedian he considers adaptable and then tailor his choice for subsequent nights after this testing of the water.

Kathleen recommends going to other local comedy nights to research suitable acts.

2 Get the layout right

Pubs with separate rooms fare particularly well. Although this isn't 100 per cent necessary, holding stand-up in a separate area means a dedicated crowd and no disruption from people who aren't in for the stand-up chatting in the background. "The worst experiences are where the area put aside is too noisy," says Kathleen. "A comedy audience turns up to see and hear the comedians."

Position the stage so there is a clear line of sight to it from as many different parts of the floor as possible. Lay out chairs facing forward where possible, avoiding having customers sitting round circular tables.

You do need some basic equipment: A PA system is essential, while adequate lighting and a stage are almost as important. However, as Mike says, "you can make a 6ft by 3ft stage with beer barrels and a plank of wood."

3 Have an interval

"Always, always have an interval," Kathleen says. "You may think you will lose bar sales by not allowing people to order whenever they want, but an interval means you will have a real rush at half-time."

An ideal structure, she says, is to have two or three acts, an interval, two more acts, another interval, then a headline act.

Intervals are also the right time to serve food, ideally simple fare that doesn't require cutlery.

4 Market your comedy events

Marketing comedy can be as simple as letting your regulars know what's on with up-to-date information around the pub, and relying on them for word-of-mouth, suggests Kathleen.

If you're more ambitious with your promotions, Mike and Kathleen have both found that local newspapers and radio can be very receptive to you approaching them to publicise your events.

Tickets should generally be priced around the £5 mark, says Mike, but be prepared to go lower when launching the night in order to get the punters in.

Top tips to make your comedy event go well

Your comedy night could act as an audition for the comedian who will represent you in the Magners Pub Comedy Awards (see below).

To ensure its success consider introducing the following points:

• Make sure that staff are well briefed about the event and that they speak to customers to encourage them to attend and participate

• Check that comedians have prepared a script/act and they have enough material for the duration. Decide how long the sets are - they probably should not be any longer than seven to eight minutes

• Provide written details of any 'house rules' regarding content to all participants 

• Encourage all participants to bring along friends and family to drive footfall. Consider suggesting that part of the vote will be audience-driven

• Make sure you switch off the house lights and anything that might disturb the show - jukeboxes, games machines and so forth

• Hold an interval between the end of the show and the announcement of the results. This will keep your customers at the event for longer.