I get a lot of messages from people asking my advice on where they should do their first open mic spot in London, and the answer really depends on what you want to get out of the experience.
For most people your first open mic spot is all about just taking that leap and getting over your nerves. You shouldn’t be worrying about how well you remember your material, or if people are laughing at your jokes, you just want to get up on stage and talk in front of a room full of people for five minutes.
For my money the best place to do that in London is the Lion’s Den Comedy Car Crash. It’s popular with first timers because it’s one of the few places where you can just show up on the night without booking in advance, and there’s a real anything-goes vibe there. It’s not a bringer, so if you don’t want your friends and family to know about what you’re doing just yet (and that’s a common feeling for newbies) it’s ideal.
The important thing is that it’s a low-pressure gig where it’s OK to fail, and that means it’s great for both newbies and more experienced acts trying out risky new material. It doesn’t matter if you forget your material, or it just doesn’t work, or your delivery is terrible, it’s all part of the game, and the MC, Boyce Bailey, is great at keeping the energy upbeat no matter what happens.
They call it the Comedy Car Crash for a reason, and it’s always entertaining, albeit sometimes for entirely the wrong reasons. When most people think of a stand-up comedy open mic night, the Lion’s Den is probably the closest thing in London to what they imagine it would be like. Broadly speaking the audience tends to be mostly made up of other acts hoping for a spot, but I’ve been there on some nights when people have brought along a large group of friends to watch them.
All that said, it’s not for everybody. Maybe you’re feeling confident and want to try performing at a night that feels a bit more like the kind of comedy club where you’ve probably seen professional acts. If that’s you, then Comedy Virgins at the Cavendish Arms is a really good bet.
It’s a bringer night, so you’ll need to take a friend, and you have to register a place about a month in advance. The flipside of that is there’s always a buzzy audience, because every performer brings at least one person, and there are usually at a handful of people who’ve shown up under their own steam.
This can be a positive because it’s easier to make a bigger crowd laugh but, if you really can’t wring any laughs out of them (which is a distinct possibility when you’re brand new) then your five minutes on stage are going to feel like five hours.
Although I recommend these two nights, it really doesn’t matter all that much where you do your first spot. It’s about taking that first step, knowing you’re probably going to eat shit for five minutes but doing it anyway just to pop your cherry. If you’ve decided you want to give stand-up a shot, you’re going to have to get used to performing in all kinds of rooms; busy, empty, buzzing, low energy, whatever, so just find a place you like and get a spot there.
If you’re a little nervous, go along to watch a show one night – you don’t need to book, and most shows are free (although they take voluntary donations at the end of the night). Once you’ve seen how an open-mic night works, you’ll feel more confident about getting up onstage yourself.