Less than 100 tickets sold for their 12 charity gigs

A string of comedy gigs aimed at raising money to ease homelessness has been cancelled in the face of poor ticket sales.

Twelve gigs had been planned across the UK for Wednesday under the banner Comedians vs Homelessness event.

But with fewer than 100 tickets sold nationwide, organisers decided they had no choice but to pull the plug.

However comedian JoJo Sutherland, one of the driving forces behind the event, said: ‘This is not the end. The issue of homelessness in this country is too important to ignore, and the vision behind this event is stronger than ever. 

‘We’re already working on rebuilding and relaunching for 2026, and it’s going to come back bigger, better, and stronger.’

It is estimated that there are 400,000 people without a stable home on any given night in the UK.

The gigs were the benefit of Comedy Army, an initiative Sutherland set up with Lu Jackson of Craic Health, an organisation aimed at harnessing the therapeutic power of comedy.

Benefits were slated to take place in London's Backyard Comedy Club, Breakneck in Aberdeen, Hot Water in Liverpool, the Frog & Bucket in Manchester, Komedia in Bath, The Forge in Brighton, The Glees in Birmingham, Glasgow and Leeds and The Stands in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle.

When the shows were first announced in June, Sutherland said: ‘Every comedian I know is well aware of the therapeutic power of comedy — that’s why we are comedians. My own personal stories of grief, trauma and chaos have been regaled to audiences worldwide over the last 25 years. 

‘Comedians Vs. Homelessness isn’t a charity gig with line-ups thrown together to grab headlines: it’s comedians from across the spectrum coming home to the circuit, for one day, for one cause to stand up for some of the most vulnerable in society, to help  them stand up for themselves.’

Acts who had been slated to take part included Alun Cochrane, Carey Marx, Connor Burns, Dan Tiernan, Karen Dunbar, Matt Richardson, Phil Nichol Scott Agnew and Zoe Lyons.

The profits from the shows was due to be split 50/50 between homeless charities and programmes that brought comedy workshops and live events into homeless shelters and other venues. 

Craic Health has been campaigning for comedy to be available on the NHS, alongside existing social prescribing models.

• The original version of Chortle's weekly round-up of the best live comedy gigs, published earlier today, included the Comedians vs Homeless shows, as we were unaware they had been cancelled. 

Published: 5 Oct 2025