Comedy night to be held in the entrance shaft to Brunel's Thames tunnel

A comedy gig is to be held in an underground chamber that was once the entrance shaft to a pedestrian tunnel under the Thames built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

When the passage was first opened in 1843 it was an engineering marvel and soon became the world’s most popular visitor attraction.

Brunel organised underground fairs and banquets inside ,and it boasted a million visitors in the first three months.

However, it soon became a haven for pickpockets, thieves, conmen, prostitutes and the homeless. leading it to being nicknamed ‘Hades Hotel’, after the Greek god of the underworld and death. Corpses had to be cleaned out every morning.

The tunnel is now used by London Underground trains, with the shaft sealed with a concrete floor, making a chamber is half the size of Shakespeare’s Globe.

Now comedians are to take over the space for a night of comedy about engineering . Hosted by science communicator  Steve Cross, the line-up of the March 4 gig features Shiv Kapila, Shalaka Kurup, Oliver Broadbent and James Connolly.

•  QI creator John Lloyd  is to host a new interview series  at London’s Gillian Lynne Theatre, talking to Michael Palin on April 27 and  Sandi Toksvig on May 4.

Published: 19 Feb 2026