The promoters of Karen Dunbar’s axed comedy tour say they ‘strongly dispute’ her claims that she has not been paid for the gigs.
The stand-up, best known for her role on TV sketch show Chewin The Fat, yesterday pulled the final 20 dates of her Aw Roon The Hooses Scottish tour, saying she had been paid for only five of the 39 shows she has performed so far.
But in a statement posted to social media late last night, promoters Breakneck Comedy said: ‘These claims are inaccurate, and we are seeking legal advice on this matter.’
Instead, they said they tried to renegotiate Dunbar’s fee in the face of poor ticket sales and rising costs, saying: 'As a small business, we simply cannot afford to take on all the work and costs of organising a 60 show tour only to sustain a significant loss.’
It appears the company originally offered Dunbar a fixed fee rather than a percentage of sales, and wanted to agree new terms midway through the tour.
In her original Instagram post, the comedian said the incident had left her under ‘unbelievable’ stress and told followers she was ‘gutted’ to have to call off the remaining dates.
She said: ‘I'm gutted to tell you this, but my tour is cancelled. I've got 20 shows left, they'll not be going ahead.
‘And the reason is, is because the promoter hasn't been paying me. I've been doing the tour for the last two months. I've done 39 shows. It would have been 40, but one of the shows was cancelled without me being told. And I've been paid for five shows, so I can't go on.
‘Honestly, I've never been in a situation like this in my life. The stress has been unbelievable, and I am so sorry for the people that have bought tickets and will nae be coming. Hopefully you'll be able to get a refund. Through the promoter or through where you bought them anyway, I'm not going to say any more than that.’
She added that more details were likely to follow later ‘because we're going to court’.
Breakneck’s full response read: ‘We are disappointed to have learned through social media one of our main comedians has announced the cancellation of the remainder of their Scottish tour. We were not contacted directly about this decision before the video was published.
‘We strongly dispute the claims made about non-payment, including the statement that the comedian has only been paid for five shows. Our position is that these claims are inaccurate, and we are seeking legal advice on this matter.
'This year, rising costs & increased venue hire charges, combined with lower ticket sales across the tour, meant we needed to approach the comedian to discuss renegotiating the tour agreement fee and terms.
‘As a small business, we simply cannot afford to take on all the work and costs of organising a 60 show tour only to sustain a significant loss overall.
‘Given the low sales across the tour, we asked the comedian to help us reach a fair, workable agreement that would allow the remaining dates to go ahead and to minimise our losses.
‘Our proposal to renegotiate the fee to align with actual ticket sales was declined, and the matter was then referred to her solicitor.
‘For future tours, Breakneck Comedy will move to agreed revenue splits instead of fixed guaranteed fees. This will protect us if sales are significantly lower than expected.
‘We will provide a further update and full refunds for those affected. Thank you to our audiences, venues and staff for their patience and continued support.’
Breakneck Comedy Ltd went into liquidation during lockdown but in 2022, managing director Naz Hussain said the business, which primarily runs a club in Aberdeen, had 'come out the other end', adding: 'We have come back even stronger.'
Another company, Punchline Promotions had been involved in advertising Dunbar's tour on social media, but had no other involvement. Punchline has also booked shows next year with Dunbar in Greenock, Peebles and Shotts which are still going ahead.
