Angel Comedy Club launches new venue The Bill Murray

Angel Comedy Club officially unveiled its new permanent home in London last night with a talent-packed gig.

The club has used the funds raised from a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to convert a disused pub in Islington to become a year-round comedy destination.

The new venue has been named The Bill Murray. While the pub has officially been named after William Murray (the first Earl of Dysart and childhood whipping boy of Charles I) whose biography is displayed in the venue, the Angel Comedy team have made attempts to contact the US comedian Bill Murray explaining that their dream is to honour "someone important to us and who reflects the spirit of what we do."

The venue's exterior walls have been painted with cartoon depictions of various comedy heroes, with Victoria Wood, Mr Bean and Charlie Chaplin are amongst those featured.

Angel Comedy launched in 2010 in a borrowed room upstairs at the Camden Head pub. With its policy of putting on gigs for free and just asking the audience for donations at the end, it soon expanded into an operation running shows seven nights a week. Whilst the organisers will continue running gigs at Camden Head, their new home at 39 Queen's Head Street allows them to expand the scope of their programme, and programme daytime workshops too.

Barry Ferns, one of the founders of the venture, MC'ed last night's launch gig, which featured performances from up-and-coming comics Jamali Maddix and Yuriko Kotani and circuit stars Nish Kumar, Tony Law, Tom Rosenthal and Jarred Christmas.

The comedians selected to perform have all worked with Angel Comedy before and have, in some way, donated to the new venture. Kickstarter backers had the opportunity to have their name engraved on a plaque and then stuck to an item in the venue. Chairs, beer pumps and even the urinals have now been named. Upon locating a chair with his name on, Tom Rosenthal joked with the audience that 'three figures' did seem like a lot to pay for a chair.

In truth, the money from the 1049 Kickstarter backers has gone a long way. The £46,643 raised has been put towards completely renovating the pub, including adding lighting and sound equipment, improved plumbing and working air conditioning; and the money will also be put towards comedy-based community projects.

The club will continue to run gigs at Camden Head, but as of now will also run a full programme of events at The Bill Murray, which is located on 39 Queen's Head Street. Regular live comedy at The Bill Murray will include the free Angel Comedy Pro Nights every Friday and Saturday, plus free Angel Comedy Gala Nights (TV headliner & other top pro acts), shows from The Alternative Comedy Memorial Society (Thom Tuck, John-Luke Roberts and guests), Green Milk ("putting weirdos on stage for various amounts of time"), Hysterical Women ("cutting edge comedians that happen to be women"), Crowley & Co's: The Night (variety showcases), and late night improv nights from Shoot From The Hip.

The Bill Murray will also have an extensive programme of critically acclaimed solo shows (November's offerings include performances from Ben Target and John Hastings), as well as exciting experimental works from the likes of Stuart Goldsmith, plus new formats such as Tony Law's Bingo Bongo.

The venue will also be running courses, with The Pajama Men, John Gordillo and Barry Ferns amongst those leading the performing courses, and writers from Mock The Week and 8 Out Of 10 Cats involved in the writing courses. The venue is now also the official UK home of The Second City, the acclaimed US improv school whose illustrious alumni include Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Steve Carrell and Mike Myers.

To find out more about Angel Comedy, and for a full list of gigs and courses at both its venues visit angelcomedy.co.uk