G&B Comedy
Arch 1, West Ham, London E16
Now I like Comedy, but I wouldn't necessarily be the first to suggest a night out to a comedy club. I have been to a few before, but always someone else's for occasions. I prefer to go to stand-up shows where the headliner is someone more well-known. As I write this, I realise how much of a comedy snob I have been. I promise to do better and support more upcoming comedic talent, especially after going to a G&B Comedy night.
The last comedy show I went to was Chris Rock performing at the O2 in London. This was a while ago. With so many Netflix specials accessible via my remote, I do not have to leave the house or pay extra to hear and see my favourites and laugh in my living room. So when a friend invited me along to a comedy night that her friend was performing at, I thought about it for a few minutes and decided to go along. Who knows? It might be fun. It would be good to have an evening laughing, hopefully.
I have been to the venue, Arch 1, many times before but not for their comedy nights. These are hosted by G&B Comedy. Entry is free, and this is due to the owner, Robert, supporting G&B by waiving the regular fee to hire the venue. This is where they launched their Girl Power and LGBTQ+ nights, making Arch 1 a special place for them and the comedians on their line-ups.
The patrons are asked at the end of the night to make a donation to help keep the events going. Although it's optional, it's kind of not optional in the way the host phrases the request.
We settled at a table at the back and ordered some drinks. The venue is cool, small, and intimate. There is also nowhere to hide if the performer wants to select you for a public roast. Maybe alcohol is not the best thing at a comedy club, but I had a wine anyway for fun, just in case I needed some dutch courage to fire back a comment or laugh uncomfortably.
I was curious and equally apprehensive to see what the content would be. Much discourse has been happening within the comedy industry of late. Would the comedians try to see if they would sink or swim by jumping into topics for which their idols were receiving backlash and attempted censorship? Or would they get really creative and avoid anything controversial and make jokes (funny ones) about things that were not divisive? Would I be reactive if something offended me? I was more nervous than the comedians.
Before the first performance, my sensitivities gave me a little nudge. I tried to relax after the first "joke," which was about race. That was what we all signed up for. To listen to jokes that were funny to some and offensive to others and things that we couldn't actually say ourselves to an audience without repercussions. I tried to lean in a little.
It's different watching from home. When you are in the venue, whether you like it or not, you are part of each joke as you are witnessing it. Only in recent years have I understood the real power of Comedy. A great comedian can use humor to educate, teach, connect, or divide their audiences through a joke. However big or small their platform can either help push conversations for change, stay the same, or regress, all whilst trying to make us laugh. It all depends on their intention and how they choose to use their art form.
The illusion is that it looks like we are there for the jokes and to laugh through the content, but Comedy is and can be much more than that.
It's as if we, the audience and the artist, are there to think through or, after the laughter and figure ourselves and society out. For us to be provoked in some way and to then provoke ourselves. To have our thoughts that make up our beliefs and opinions pressed upon to see how well they Stand Up.
One of the comedians joined our table. She was one of the very few women performing that night, and she told us that the content in her performances would be about dismantling the patriarchy. This was going to be a very interesting evening, and I was looking forward to hearing her content. I think she was a doctor in her day and also night job.
I remember looking around at all the performers, thinking that most of them looked like they had come from work. This a reminder that everyone has some side hustle that they might like to make their main hustle or just a hobby that they are really passionate about.
The friend of the friend that was performing got up there and did his thing. I didn't really know what to expect when he was at our table; he seemed pretty quiet and not yet that funny. He nearly fell over too accidentally on the stage, making his set even more hilarious. He is a black cab driver, and his group is centered around that. I started to relax and get into it, still waiting for a joke that really pushed beyond the boundaries.
There was a long line-up of comedians. I laughed, squirmed, and had my hands over my mouth for many of the jokes. There was a comedian who was from China, Wuhan, to be precise. She was so funny and visibly very nervous, too, during her set. Some of her jokes were written on her arm, and I loved that her courage got her through her 10 minutes even though she was nervous. And yes, there were many jokes from her about the virus.
And then there was Endometriosis Gate. The comedian who had sat with us almost had the end of her set derailed by one of the audience. I am unsure if he would be described as a heckler, but he had misheard what she said and was very triggered by it. When the host asked the audience what they thought about the endometriosis studies she referenced, he answered loudly and said that what she had said wasn't true, all whilst she was still on the stage.
It was uncomfortable and mortifying for all of us in the room. After the audience's sharp collective intake of breath, the MC quickly pushed back and corrected him. He then got to share in the same amount of embarrassment she had felt in having to justify the truth in her jokes whilst standing up there.
He did apologise to the comedian during the break and got a side eye from me, which remained even after he tried to smile at me in his awkwardness. He justified his outburst in that he was also in the medical profession and had misheard what she had said. She accepted his apology. I don't think anyone anticipated this being the most controversial topic of the night in our current climate.
It was a predominantly male line-up, so the women's sets were more memorable as there were few. One of the comedians opened with a vaccine joke that makes me laugh every time I think about it. It joked about the conspiracy theories that were causing so much vaccine hesitancy. A lot of her content was around her relationship with her family and her coming out as Transgender. Under every joke is a painful truth, and for me, her set was the most important, and I hope it was both healing and empowering for her.
Then we came to the closing set. A guy in his very early 20's performing Comedy for the very first time. His name was Harry, and I am sure he will perform at many more venues. It was the best way to close out the evening. Some people just have it, and he definitely does. That this was his first time shows that this is meant to be what he is doing right now. It was funny and effortless, and he was at ease on the stage.
My friend had already left before the end as she had a long journey home. I spoke with the comedian (whose name I cannot remember) after her set to say how sorry I was at what happened to her at the end of her performance. She said it was fine and that it would be great for future material. Turning a lemon, a real one, into lemonade was such a great perspective. I wonder if he realised, even after apologising, that his actions would make him the star of her next show.
This was probably the most fun night I have had out in a long while. There were jokes, some funny and some average, but I guess that is all down to perspective. There was an unexpected annoying shaming moment that turned out to be a teaching lesson - Do Not interrupt someone's set unless you want to become the joke at the next one. Live Comedy is so unpredictable, and that, I guess, is part of the draw.
So much can come from Comedy. For a better word, most of us would want to be Happy or Happier. Comedy is an important art form that can help with this. It can connect and bring awareness and attention. It can also divide us, which we are seeing more and more often. For it to divide us, we would have already been divided, and the joke would only have highlighted the distance. If we let it, it can elevate much-needed conversations and bring understanding and reflection to where we all are at this time in our human journeys.
I, for one, have learnt more through the conversations and listening through the division than I ever would have if we didn't have any noise surrounding Comedy right now. But we all need to laugh. I definitely do, anyway. That is one thing I want to do more over the next year. I want to look for more laughter, joy, and more of myself.
We need Comedy, and stand-up Comedy is a big part of this. If you walk away thinking that all you were there to do was just to laugh, then you are not really thinking at all. Or the comedian is possibly just early in their craft and hasn’t mastered planting a message and weaving it through the show.
Although even if you just laugh, that hopefully makes you a better person for it. I walked home laughing at the things that I found funny and the things that made me squirm. I really want to laugh more even when times are difficult, or it seems like the world is not the most fun place to be.
Maybe I need some more stand-up comedy in real life. It’s different from participating on the sofa. You get to be a part of it. The energy, the jokes, and the laughter. Even if you are hiding at the back.