Angel Comedy

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Angel Comedy is a free comedy night that runs seven nights a week at two pub venues in London, England; above the Camden Head and in The Bill Murray.[1][2][3] The club was founded by Barry Ferns, Sarah Pearce, Rachael Warnes and Dec Munro, and describes itself as "making comedy more accessible for audiences and comedians".[4]

The Camden Head[]

The Camden Head

The comedy night was started in 2010 by comedian Barry Ferns as a weekly show with the intention of giving stage time to newer acts and allowing established professional comics to test new material.[5] In 2012 the club was extended to run three nights per week. In April 2013, Angel Comedy held London's first[6] week long free comedy festival, and then began running nightly.

The comedy night has hosted comedians including Dara Ó Briain, Tommy Tiernan, Eddie Izzard, Russell Howard, Daniel Simonsen and Holly Walsh.[7] In January 2015, Ferns launched The Angel Comedy zine and podcast, featuring interviews with comedians who have performed at the club. Celia Pacquola was the first guest on the programme.[citation needed]

In February 2015, the club announced that it was collaborating[8] with the US and Canadian comedy troupe The Second City and UK comedy blog Comedy Blogedy to bring Second City to the United Kingdom.[9][10]

The Bill Murray[]

In 2016 Angel Comedy launched a Kickstarter campaign[11] to purchase and renovate a pub in Islington, a second space running on the same Angel Comedy Principle. The pub opened as The Bill Murray in 2017.[12] Angel Comedy contacted comedian Bill Murray to seek his blessing for the pub's name, and in the absence of a response the pub is said to be officially named after William Murray, 1st Earl of Dysart.[12]

The Bill Murray hosts Angel Comedy's workshops and courses, and serves as a place for comedians to test material with a more eclectic programme of shows. It is their base for future expansive projects.

References[]

  1. ^ "Islington stand up at its best: Barry Ferns at Angel Comedy - Islington Now". islingtonnow.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2015-02-12.
  2. ^ "50 free things to do in London". The Evening Standard.
  3. ^ "The Barry Experience". chortle.co.uk.
  4. ^ "About Angel Comedy". Angel Comedy.
  5. ^ "Opinion: Free Comedy – Too Good to Be True?". Beyond The Joke.
  6. ^ Barry Ferns. "Free comedy festival in London - April 2013". comedy.co.uk.
  7. ^ "The best free comedy in London". Time Out London.
  8. ^ "Why is Improvisation the most important creative skill?". The London Economic.
  9. ^ "The Second City – 50 Years of Funny". The Second City - 50 Years of Funny. Archived from the original on 2015-03-12.
  10. ^ Inveterate (27 March 2015). "Second City 2015: American Comedy Institution Announces London Dates". Inveterate. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  11. ^ "Update 17: WELCOME TO…THE BILL MURRAY · Angel Comedy Club". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2019-09-28.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b "A comedian walks into a pub, buys it and turns it into a comedy club. It's no joke..." The Independent. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
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