...and why OWEN NIBLOCK wants to break them

I read with interest Alan Varley’s Correspondence piece about stand-up breaking out of the usual venues, as I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about the confines and rules of comedy – and plan a tour of unusual places next year.

In doing so, I’ll surely be be breaking some cardinal rules about what makes a room ideal for stand-up, for there are several factors to be considered. Don’t get me wrong: good comedy with the right audience can work practically anywhere – but you won’t always have the right audience and you won’t always have good comedy. So those who run the best rooms have sought to compensate for this by regulating the performance space.

So what makes a good room?

• It’s rectangular; no annoying dead-spots where seats can’t be placed.

• It has a low ceiling, to bounce those all-important laughter noises back toward the crowd.

• All the focus is on the stage (bar, entrance and toilets are at the back).

• There is a stage; the comedian is raised up high (not too high) above the crowd giving him a position of authority.

• It’s a totally separate space, no distracting noise bleeding in from elsewhere.

• It has professional lighting. Some shows need a black room some need a little light so the act can see the audience, you should be able to cater for both.

• There are no visible windows. No one wants to see the sun shining outside. It’s distracting. We are underground. We are anarchy. The voice of the people in a darkened room.

• Fairly comfy seats: too comfy and the audience fall asleep, not comfy enough and the audience are restless. Throw out those sofas.

• Just the right size for the audience. The room needs to feel full, but not full to bursting. If people at the back can't see, they'll be more inclined to chat or cause trouble.

• Theatre seating packed in close together. You're more inclined to laugh if you're near someone else who's laughing. So pack them in. Almost too close for comfort - but not quite.

• It has the right sound system for the size and a decent mic in a decent stand. The acts can walk around the stage (and possibly into the crowd) without getting feedback.

• The right temperature. Too hot and the audience fall asleep, too cold and they fidget.

The reason the set-up for comedy clubs is formulaic is that it works and works well. It helps to keep people focused on the show and when people think the show will be good, it’s easier for the acts.

But there’s a place for comedy in other locations, and I'm working on a tour of comedy in odd places called Twisted Whimsy Tour of Oddity.

So far I’ve done a show in an office in Torfaen and a garage in Cardiff and they’ve been a lot of fun. I’ve just confirmed a show in a rugby club changing room and a lorry and have a lead for a gig in a music studio.

The reason they’ve worked so far is that the gigs are privately advertised to a small group of people on social media and generally sold on word of mouth. So we have the right audience – if not necessarily the perfect space.

For example, in the garage, the focus was not on the stage (there was no stage); it doesn't have professional lighting (it had two lamps, one of them in a wheelbarrow), there were no seats (we got people to bring cushions) and the sound system was a guitar amp.

But i the scheme of things, it was pretty well set up. The rugby club changing room is probably going to tick the least boxes but we'll make it work. I like a challenge.

My dream is to do a full blown tour in 2014 – entirely unconventional venues. Ideally, I’d like to do a tour of 51 dates to match Lee Evan’s tour of arenas. Only my tour would probably play to fewer people than a single date on Mr. Evan’s monster tour.

Life is all about setting lofty aims. If you know of a place I can play – please email me. I might only be able to gather 15 people for a gig in a garage now, but if they enjoy themselves and tell their friends, next year it'll be more. How long before I'm playing to a few hundred in a field? Or a supermarket? Don't worry though, I'll still want to play to handful of people in a lift.

• Owen Niblock plays The Three Crowns as part of the Chippenham Comedy Festival on Sunday. His Facebook page is here.

Published: 5 Jun 2013