New body to fight for their rights

Comedians and promoters have formed the first UK body designed to protect their rights, the UK Comedy Guild.

With 400 members representing every level of the business, the Guild aims to lobby over pay and working conditions, and offer advice and backing to those facing harassment and exploitation. It was set up following talks to establish a comedians' trade union, which resulted in a comedians' chapter being founded within actors' union Equity, as well as the new guild.

Comedian Sara Pascoe, one of its founders, said: 'Being a comic is a wonderful job, but it also leaves people vulnerable and solitary. For too long there’s been no recourse for individuals who have been mistreated. Now, working alongside Equity, we hope to change this, using positivity and communication and best practice guidelines.

'Thanks to our network we can now directly teach comedians and promoters how our industry should work, what the best practice and rules are, how to protect comedians from discrimination and harassment and to ensure they are properly paid where agreed and appropriate.'

Day-to-day operations of the UK Comedy Guild will be run by a central council, made up of 29 volunteer members.

Leeds-based comedian Silky said: 'What we’ve done is to recruit a team of volunteers who will be the first point of contact for people with any issue they want to raise – comedy first responders if you will. The group will be able to call upon the resources of our members to provide solutions, mediate problems or in cases where specialist or legal support is needed, signpost people to where help is available.'

The idea of a 'comedian's union' was mooted last year, after club chain Jongleurs built up a backlog of unpaid fees to performers, and the Guild say these are the sort of issues they want to 'highlight and, if possible, help with'.

The first UKCG council will comprise: Matthew Baylis, Bobby Carroll, Ben Norris, Jarred Christmas, Matt Green, Dan Edge, Susan Murray, JoJo Sutherland, Silky, Javier Jarquin, Ross McGrane, Cerys Nelmes, Sheraz Yousaf, Brian Higgins, Trish Caller, Kahn Johnson, Paddy Lennox, PierretteS'Cobaz, Doug Segal, Danny Worthington, Alexis Dubus, John Scott, Pam Ford, Dominic Frisby, John Ryan, Julian Deane, Paul Adams, Justin Moorhouse and James Sherwood.

The guild can be contacted by e-mailing comedianscollective@gmail.com. Anyone working in comedy, whether as performer or promoter, can email the same address to be added to the mailing list.

Article amended on June 8 to remove a statement about the current state of affairs with Jongleurs which the Guild subsequently withdrew, saying it did not properly represent the situation.

Published: 6 Jun 2015