...at £156 a car

American stand-up Jim Gaffigan has become the first top-flight comedian to announce plans to tour – as a drive-in experience. 

As a number of clubs on both sides of the Atlantic are experimenting with the format, including the UK’s Comedy Store, Gaffigan has revealed his first date will be at a New Jersey racecourse next month.

But tickets are not cheap, at $192.75 (£156) per car, carrying a maximum of four people in the car.

Vehicles will be parked 9ft apart so that windows can stay open and to ensure better views of the stage. Fans are told they will have to stay in their cars except to go to the toilet. 

Gaffigan said: ‘I'm excited to announce I'm starting a Drive Thru Comic Tour. Yes, stand-up comedy while you sit comfortably in your car.’

The drive-in - as opposed to drive-thru as the comic is calling it -  takes place in Monmouth Park, Oceanport, on July 12.

In Britain, the Comedy Store is programming four shows two nights in Henley, Oxfordshire, on July 9 and 10 - with the second night added after the first sold out quickly – and at Powderham Castle in Exeter on July 3. The gigs are being promoted by entertainment giant Live Nation.

Published: 3 Jun 2020