Comic Tom Binns has a plan to kick-start the circuit

Live comedy could return as a drive-in experience, long before clubs are allowed to reopen.

That’s the hope of comedian Tom Binns – best known for his alter-ego Ivan Brackenbury, the inept hospital radio DJ – who has launched a crowdfunding drive to buy the equipment to establish a touring drive-in comedy club.

Under his plans, gigs could accommodate up to 200 vehicles, with stand-ups performing on a stage atop a camper van.

Binns says the idea is ‘based on the romantic drive-in cinemas from the golden age of America. It will be just like the ones you've seen in the movies but with live comedy and rain and it will probably be in a Lidl car park.’

If each car carries members of the same household, it should be possible to stage gigs while maintaining social distancing guidelines – and the comic hopes to be able to start the shows as early as July.

He has embarked on a crowdfunding drive to buy the required technology not only to beam the gig to car radios, but also to transmit the laughter from some vehicles back to the stage to help comedians with their timing.

Extra funds are also needed to put a stage on the roof of his VW van, with the total goal set at £5,000. 

If successful, Binns will then share the van and technology with promoters around the country, enabling them to run shows for their local audiences. 

Anyone donating as little as £20 has been promised a gig within 15 miles of their home, with their contribution covering two tickets. 

In addition to the club nights, Binns plans to run one-day festivals at sites in Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Bristol and London in August, featuring comedians who would have performed at the now cancelled Edinburgh Fringe. A  £50 donation secures a ticket to one of these, while £750 will get you a private show for friends, staff or even wedding guests.

Binns says that he has ‘lots of friends more successful than him’ who would be keen to perform shows after being locked down for so long, adding: ‘We should have good audiences, too, because they've been starved of live entertainment and there still isn't much competition.’

Some comedy clubs in America have already started experimenting with drive-in gigs. House of Comedy in Phoenix, Arizona, is staging such a show tomorrow, and here's a news report from a gig in Anchorage, Alaska, last month:

Donate to Binns' Kickstarter funding here. If the target isn’t met, you won’t have to pay what you pledge.

Published: 12 May 2020