We looked inside Sheffield's newest comedy club, on Campo Lane

The Star, Sheffield

We looked inside Sheffield's newest comedy club, Steel City Comedy Club, under the Beaten Track, formerly Wig and Pen, on Campo Lane

Transcript

00:00So, in looking for a new house, I was told by the estate agent, when you get this surveyed,

00:08make sure that you look for any damp that is in the building.

00:13We're in the north of England, though.

00:15I mean, that's like looking for a piece of hay in a haystack, you know.

00:22This is the Beaton Track pub on Campo Lane.

00:27It used to be the Wigan Pen, but it's recently re-opened.

00:31Now it's also going to be the base for a custom-built comedy club in its basement, and that club's

00:39going to be called the Steel City Comedy Club.

00:41I've been in to have a look.

00:43I'm with Stuart Dunlop, who's a comedian, and Paul Wrench, who is looking to set up

00:50Sheffield's first permanently based comedy club.

00:56Paul, could you tell me first, please, what are the plans for your comedy club?

01:02So it's evolved out of some comedy that we were doing at the Three Tons, which is just

01:05on the other side of Paradise Square here.

01:08We recognised the need for a specific venue to allow us to develop comedy in.

01:14This property came available, so we negotiated with the guys that have the bar at the Wigan

01:20Pen, and here we are.

01:21We've created what we hope is a nice, intimate, bijou comedy venue.

01:25And have you had a lot of experience of running comedy in the past?

01:30I've attended a lot of comedy.

01:31I've always enjoyed comedy in the Sheffield scene.

01:35For the last 12 months, we've had the Three Tons, as I say, we've developed the comedy.

01:38As we've gone along, we've introduced different promoters to do different types of comedy.

01:44So it's not just stand-up, and that's part of the reason why Stuart's here.

01:48He's also been very influential on our journey.

01:52Have you got an opening date for the first act?

01:55As you can see, we're almost there.

01:57The decorations are done.

01:59We need to start promoting the first events.

02:02We will have a stand-up event on the 9th of October.

02:06We'll have a couple of precursors to that, just to make sure that all the wires work

02:12where they should work, etc.

02:15And Stuart, amongst your many hats that you wear, you've been a stand-up comedian yourself.

02:21Is that correct?

02:22That's correct, yes.

02:23And I've been doing that for about five years now, I would say, just over five years.

02:28And involving myself in this has been great because I've basically been able to do a live

02:34comedy quiz show with great comedians, essentially playing alongside the audience, which is what

02:39we've been doing at the Three Tons.

02:41So I like to be versatile with what I'm doing in comedy.

02:47I never like sticking with the same thing for very long.

02:52So that's what I've been looking forward to doing with this venue.

02:56I understand that today's the first time you've had a look at the Steel City Comedy Club.

03:01What do you think of it?

03:02I really like it.

03:04I like it's a very intimate space.

03:06It feels very much like you're at one with the audience, because I've always liked that.

03:11One thing about comedy that I've always enjoyed has been that idea that you are working almost

03:16with the audience, that there's this sort of familiarity between the performer and the

03:22people, the spectating public.

03:26And I really feel like the way that this is laid out, it really does feel, you know, sort

03:32of like we're all in this and we're all here to have a good time and we're all here to

03:36be entertained, really, and enjoy ourselves.

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