An award-winning comedy club is returning this month in a new venue after losing its spot last year.
The Bristol Comedy Club had been widely acclaimed in the post-Covid times, and was based in The Room Above at the White Bear in Kingsdown, a venue that started in 2016. The comedy club founded by Harry Allmark really took off in 2022 and 2023 and won the prestigious Chortle Award for Best Pro Night.
But in April last year, the venue was taken over by new owners and by September the Bristol Comedy Club had to leave, and has been looking for a new venue ever since.
Now, it has found one – and will restart with an opening night later this month at Dareshack, a coffee bar and studio space on Wine Street. It’s twice the size of The Room Above, and the comedy club founders have set up a fundraiser to get support to help transform it into a comedy club for Bristol.
Founder Harry Allmark, who is also involved in the Bristol Comedy Festival taking place this month at various venues around the city, has been running pop-up shows around the city since the closure of The Room Above, but is now excited to have a permanent home again at last.
“Last year we were named Bristol’s number one comedy venue by multiple outlets and won the prestigious Chortle Award for Best Pro Night, but like many pubs, bars and club nights in Bristol, it all came to an end in April 2024 after the venue was taken over by new owners,” he said.
“I’m so excited to have found a new home for our sell-out shows so we can continue making people laugh and nurturing local talent. We’ve helped numerous local comics go from their first open mic spot to becoming professional club comedians, and we’ve also taken multiple shows and comics to The Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
“So for anyone not sure about going to a comedy night – remember that this is your chance to see the next big name before they’re on telly,” he added.