Interview with Don Ward from The Comedy Store

The Comedy Store venue is now in its 40th year. We talk to owner Don Ward about the venue's history, and the club's plans to now bring comedy to other towns and cities.

Hi Don. How is The Comedy Store?

Well, it's a very special year for us. We are in our fortieth year, would you believe it? 40 years of alternative comedy!

It all started May 1979. We're gearing up for a charity show at The Store [20th May 2019]; a big party for all that have been connected with The Store right from the beginning. The Alexei Sayle days; Keith Allen, Paul Merton, French & Saunders, Ade Edmondson... alas, no more Rik Mayall. Those were the people who were with me at the beginning and then, over the course of time, we've discovered and worked with a lot of people: John Bishop, Jimmy Carr, Rhod Gilbert, Sarah Millican, Peter Kay... it's like a Who's Who in comedy, all linked to The Comedy Store.

You have to look at who didn't come through The Comedy Store doors at some time or another... apart from that, most people did. Victoria Wood didn't. I can't really think of anybody else that didn't though, you know?

It certainly has been a rollercoaster for 40 years. But now, as we come into the 40th year, we've got together with promoters Live Nation and our plan is to take The Comedy Store out on the road and get it all around the country.

We're keen to hear more about your expansion plans, but first to pick you up on the word 'Alternative' you just used then. The definition of that word, in terms of comedy, has changed since you launched...

Yes, it has, hasn't it? I set it [the venue] up as a non-racist, non-sexist platform. I was sick and tired and bored of the comics of the day in England in the 60s and 70s. Having seen what they were doing in America, I decided surely there was a platform for it in Britain. And, sure enough, there is.

We've produced some amazing comics, haven't we, over the course of years? They control everything now, virtually, don't they? All the game shows, the tours, and everything. All the guys that have come through The Comedy Store doorway...

There was a period of time, when TV shows like Live At The Apollo were dominating the schedules, that people thought comedy clubs would die. But that's not been the case at all...?

We're dealing with three to three and a half thousand people a week in London. We have had nine shows a week for the last 20 years... of course some nights are up, some nights are down, but when you add them up at the end of the year... The auditors turn around and say "1.5% down on last year", but then the following year: "2% up on the previous year", so it becomes swings and roundabouts.

There's nothing like seeing comedy live. You look at the comedy on Live At The Apollo - people sitting at home and watching that - it's not anywhere near the same atmosphere, the same feel, as if they were sitting at The Apollo and watching it. So, consequently, people still want to go out and see live comedy because you can not capture, completely, that wonderful atmosphere of a live comedy gig. You've got to go out for it.

I have no fear for the future. I can't say it won't ever change because everything evolves, sooner or later, doesn't it? But the one thing that British people love to do is to laugh. What a great tonic it is, to laugh. That's why I love my business, my business is my hobby and my hobby is my business.

Last time we spoke Don, you were about to head in to the stress of having to negotiate your London lease. Rents in Leicester Square must be horrendous?

Yeah, rents have gone up horrendously. Also, extremely painful is Business Rates, which are virtually half your rent. So whatever the figure you are paying as a rent figure you work out 'well, I've got to pay another 50% to Westminster Council'. Which makes the whole thing very, very expensive!

I have to be careful, and it's a balancing act of keeping our prices competitive at the same time being able to pay best wages to my staff, and the best fees to my acts. After all, it's all very well working in good conditions but at the end of the night, or the end of the week, you need to be decently paid. I like to earn and have a decent style of living so why not my staff and why not the comics?

These questions were asked in October 2018, about the autumn tour, which has now finished.

So tell us more about this collaboration with Live Nation?

Come the millennium I thought 'The Comedy Store must do something special'. Some would say: "Oh, Comedy Store works in London, but it wouldn't work anywhere else." Oh really? Okay, so I opened in Manchester. Manchester now is 18 years old and it's going great guns. So that proves to me that you can get The Comedy Store out and about... which we're going to do more now, in conjunction with the all powerful Live Nation.

We're delighted and pleased to be working with them. They are highly professional touring people.

We're now putting on a string of shows in theatres around the country. We're in Melton Mowbray in November. Then we're at the Charter Hall in Colchester, that's in November too. Then we're heading to Maidstone and Chester in early February, then Hertford, at the Hertford Theatre. These are all venues that we're going to be doing a monthly, or bi-monthly shows in.

So these are sort of the first tests of a touring format?

Yes. We shall take the view after, say, Spring of next year to see; and then possibly add in some more.

It's a joy and a pleasure to work with somebody so professional as Live Nation. I've every confidence that, as long as the public come out for us, they're going to get a wonderful show. I can promise them that, every time.

There's lots of cities in the UK... You could be very busy soon!

It's obviously going to be the economics of it all, it's got to work. It's got to work for the theatre, it's got to work for Live Nation, it's got to work for me. And all three of us, we've all got to turn a little profit, haven't we? We're not looking for massive profits but we've got to make a little profit out of it. To keep the thing going...

More and more people are looking to try stand-up comedy. What advice would you give to them?

Contact The Comedy Store; we are going to be starting classes very shortly for absolute beginners!

We'll give you some good advice as to what your next move is. You've got to have a burning desire to want to stand up on the stage and make people laugh. That's important. They've got to have that desire...

What you need is an idea too. Give yourself an idea. If somebody's struggling to have an idea - and that is quite common - then we, at our classes, will ease you through that. 'What do you do as a job?'... 'Oh, I'm an income tax collector'. Well, there you are, there's comedy in there. Or whatever, you know. 'I'm a taxi driver' - they've got masses of stories that they can turn into jokes. What the audience will want to hear is something about the individual.

It's like being a good musician too: practice, practice, practice.

The public and television have an insatiable appetite for new people. That's the exciting bit for them.

For more established acts, if somebody's got a good 10 minutes but just not good enough to go into a 20, we've got advanced classes where we will take sort of a rough diamond and polish it up... Get you in to a situation where you could be knocking at the door of all these venues in the country. And let's face it, there's probably about 600 places all around Britain that you can go and perform.

What do you think is the common problem newer stand-up comedians have?

They haven't quite found their voice, haven't quite found their attitude. Are you an angry comic? Are you an eager to please comic? Are you a one-liner? You've got to find your voice. You've got to find your attitude. You've got to find your space, so when you get up on that stage you boss it.

You've got to boss that stage! You've got to get out there and hit them straight away with a joke and boss the room. You're in charge. But it's finding that, 'what am I?'

Am I, for example, Rhod Gilbert? He's exasperated with modern technology. Now that is his bag. Everything kind of falls into that line, doesn't it? Milton Jones, you've got this surreal, two-liners: Set up and then a payoff.

Once you find your voice, once you've found your style, then you've got a bigger chance of getting there.

Great advice. Our final question Don: who have you seen recently who is new and up-and-coming and you'd tip to keep an eye on for the future?

I am an agent as well. I do have one or two comics under my wing. I would suggest come along and see and make your mind up for yourself... because I'm not filling other agency's books for them.

There's a reason you've been at the top for 40 years Don, and you've just demonstrated why, ha ha.

The Comedy Store didn't do a bad thing... we started an industry, didn't we?