The best audience: a guide to comedy club etiquette

At Always Be Comedy, we’re lucky. Very lucky, in fact. We have the best audiences who have come out to have the best time. We write this, in fact, inspired by two phenomenal crowds at our mixed-bill shows across last Thursday and Friday (at the time of typing).

Our crowds are famously warm, generous and – crucially – up for a laugh. But whether you’re a seasoned comedy-goer or a first-time punter, it never hurts to brush up on the unspoken rules of being the best audience member you can be.

This is actually rather pass agg, isn’t it?

Look, as Always Be Comedy looks to keep expanding, especially with the upcoming Chelsea launch (hey, we love future regulars!), it doesn’t hurt to present a guide to comedy club etiquette, designed to help you enjoy the night and make sure the comedians do too.

Anyway, here we go…

⏱️ Arrive on Time (Or Fashionably Early)

We have some nerve here, don’t we? We think we’ve started on time approximately three times in more than 14 years. But we respectfully kick off with this one because, crucially, comedy thrives on momentum. When a punter arrives late, it can really disrupt the flow – especially in a small room such as The Tommyfield. We’d also say the vibe starts building before the show – it’s why we always do that trademark: “The comedy’s going to start in less than a minute!” pre-intro. It’s to test the pre-gig vibes. We take the whole “energy” thing super-seriously. And a late-comer can really torpedo that.

📱Phones Off, Minds On

Again, the hypocrisy is off the charts. Here at Always Be Comedy, our phones are essentially spot-welded to our palms. But, during a show, a punter doom-scrolling is a distraction. We remember a show taking place when Liverpool beat Barcelona in the Champions League (7 May 2019, to be exact). One lad checked the score. Even THAT was frowned upon! Let alone checking Instagram or What’s Apping a pal. We can’t emphasise this enough – this pretty much never happens at ABC (and we thank you). Also, please don’t record or take photos. We’ve got that covered!

😂 Laugh Loud, Laugh Often

This might sound obvious. And yet might also be the most-important one on the list. If you’ve not been to a gig before, you at least need to meet the comedians partway; we still get flashbacks to a group of our pals who came to a gig (a banger of a bill, too!) and, because they’d never been to a comedy show before, sat straight-faced and arms folded throughout. They simply didn't get the etiquette of laughter. Obviously they might simply have not found anyone funny (impossible! Right, guys?! Guys?). But it is helpful to know you need to turn up somewhat up for it. This is the TV warm-up in me typing: the more energy you give, the more the acts feed off it. Laughter is the fuel that keeps the night running. Don’t worry about sounding weird or laughing too much—there’s no such thing. Joy is contagious, and it gives comedians the confidence to soar and improvise and explore new ideas. And, yes, this piece is turning out more earnest than we’d intended. But we’re sort of in it now so we just have to keep going...

🗣️Heckling: Just Don’t

Heckling died with Margaret Thatcher. Seriously. It’s not the 80s, dudes. Who heckles?! We still vividly remember one punter heckling many moons ago and – and this is why the ABC crowds are the best – every single person turning around to look at them in abject horror as if to say: “What the chuff are you doing?!” As pal-of-the-night Josh Widdicombe says: “There is no such thing as a good heckle.” Also, whispering can prove oddly insidious and can probably wait for the break (although we do know one comedian who berated someone for whispering. It transpired that they were telling their pal how brilliant the comedian was and so - with sweet, sweet hindsight - the third degree was a slight misread).

🤫Keep the Secrets Secret 

At Always Be Comedy, you often see huge names dropping in to test brand new material before it hits their tour or television special. 

What You See Stays Here: When you leave the club, please do avoid sharing the exact jokes or specific premises you heard online (we’ve seen it on the socials before and it’s a bit of a head-scratcher). Part of the thrill is seeing the material raw and new. Let the comedian own the final product (please).

Christ. This was supposed to be a bit of fun and we’re borderline telling you off for something you haven’t even done. “Don’t video gigs!” You: “I wasn’t going to!” “OK then. We are sorry!”

Obviously if you’ve been to ABC before, you know the score and were hopefully nodding along to this so much you have RSI. But, if you haven’t, then, heck, perhaps some of this was useful? Anyway, we hope to see you guys at a show soon. And it's a much friendlier vibe than this would suggest.

"Are you going to shamelessly include the URL to all future shows?"

We sure are, hypothetical person. We sure are.

In fact, you've proved us wrong - that was a really helpful heckle. Thank you.