'Brainless' audiences prompt rethink

London’s Comedy Cafe is closing its main room – after its owner got fed up with the ‘brainless’ audiences it has been attracting.

The venue, which has been in Shoreditch for 22 years, is undergoing a major refit, with the brightly-coloured decor stripped out to create a music venue and nightclub.

Comedy will continue in a new upstairs venue, but owner Noel Faulkner says he’ll be aiming for more discerning crowds.

He said: ‘I have been hacked off with the level of brainless wankers in the otherwise lovely audiences we have been getting, and I have now decided to change the direction of the comedy and bring it back to what most serious theatre people would appreciate.

‘Wednesday nights will continue on as our new act nights because I have always supported new talent. Thursday nights will be become the “one man show” nights and theatre nights, Friday and Saturdays will still be stand-up, but more so for the thinking man than the Page Three man.

‘For 20 years I have suffered, pandering to brainless fools but now it's my turn to create the kind of live comedy venue that I would go and see.’

The news comes just a day after Chortle revealed that Highlight is set to close four of its venues, which also cater for the weekend party crowds.

The Comedy Cafe changes will take place from the new year, but the upstairs venue has already been used for comedy, with Tom Allen hosting a chat show there earlier this week.

Published: 2 Dec 2011