Pah, says Nashville, as it stages a 184-hour effort

More than 100 British comedians are to attempt to break the world record for the longest comedy show.

They will be attempting to run the gig for 96 hours over the Easter weekend: from 6pm on Thursday March 29 until 6pm on Monday April 2.

The current record stands at 80 hours and two minutes, which was set in Nashville in 2015.

However if the new attempt – at The Atic venue in Banbury, Oxfordshire – is successful, the record may be short lived, since the Nashville comedians are attempting  to shatter the record a week-long continuous gig later in April.

That attempt will last for an astounding 184 hours and 31 minutes, starting at 5am on Sunday, April 15 and ending on April 22. Described by the venue Nashville Stands Up as ‘the greatest and dumbest thing we’ve ever done’, the record attempt is part of the Tennessee city’s comedy festival.

Both attempts face challenges - not least the requirement that there must be a minimum of ten audience members at all times to qualify, which may be difficult in the early hours of the morning. ‘But we're really rallying the community to get behind this and help us achieve it,’ says The Atic manager Ryan Mold.

British-based American comic Russell Hicks, pictured, has already volunteered to perform for the 3am-5am graveyard shift on Saturday morning, but most acts won’t be doing that long. The minimum is 15 minutes.

Other comedians who have already signed up for the UK marathon session include  Marlon Davis, Andrew Bird, Paul McCaffrey, Stephen Carlin, Mark Simmons, Jayde Adams, Zahra Barri, Rich Wilson, Paul Pirie, Chris Kent, Yuriko Kotani, Jack Barry, Scott Bennett, Tony Coward, Matt Stellingwerf, Rik Carranza, Jonny Pelham, Sarah Callaghan and Glenn Moore.

‘Performers need to have been gigging over a year and have at least 20 paid gigs,’ Mold says. ‘The entire thing needs to be recorded with witnesses, logs etc – and there are quite a lot more stipulations.’

Money raised from ticket sales – £15 for a weekend pass, £5 for a day – will go to the Katharine House Hospice in Oxfordshire.

The longest stand-up comedy show by an individual is 40 hours and 8 minutes, and was performed by The Midnight Swinger, aka David Scott, at the Diamond Jo Casino in Dubuque, Iowa, in April 2013.

Published: 5 Mar 2018