We’re raising money to open a full time and dedicated comedy club in Bristol’s City Centre.
We are the founders and directors of The Bristol Comedy Club, formerly known as; The Room Above. Our journey began when Artistic Director Harry Allmark was asked to take over the function room above The White Bear Pub on St. Michael’s Hill, this was in February 2020. Thanks to the pandemic, the first thing we ever did was close for 18 months.
Harry had to move back home to Shropshire to take a construction job and as lockdown eased, he travelled down to Bristol on his weekends to renovate the club. Eventually, we reopened in August 2021. Unable to find accommodation, Harry spent the next 4 months living at the back of the room in a sleeping bag once the shows had finished. In the early days, Harry would host the show, take the tickets, work the lights, and run the bar - often all on the same night.
What started as one night a month, quickly grew to being sold out 7 nights a week, bringing grassroots live comedy back to Bristol. Platforming and progressing the local scene while blending them with the UK’s best acts on the circuit.
By March 2024, we had been named Bristol’s number one comedy venue by multiple outlets, won the prestigious Chortle Award for Best Pro Night 2024, had grown acts from open mic spots to professional club comedians, taken multiple shows and comics to The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and on average would sell out 80% of our performances.
Sadly, in April 2024, the pub was taken over by new owners who had different plans for the venue. By September 2024, The Room Above had closed its doors for good and Bristol had lost its comedy club. For the past couple months, we have run pop up shows across the city, received a commission from the council for a 2 week comedy festival in January, and done everything we can to still support live comedy.
And now, finally, we’ve found our new home! The Bristol Comedy Club will open in January 2025 but we need YOUR help to make it happen. Our new club is twice the size of The Room Above and needs renovating, we need new signage, stage, chairs, and equipment.
So please, help us make this dream become a reality.
You can help in various ways, share the crowd funder around, donate what you can, follow us and our journey @the_bristol_comedy_club and book tickets to the upcoming comedy festival www.thebristolcomedyfestival.com
Thank you for reading and we look forward to making you laugh for years to come.
Keep on smiling,
The Bristol Comedy Club