stand up comedy course
Both real-life and online versions available.
Have some fun learning how to write and perform stand-up comedy!
Includes a show at the end of the course (on the real-life version of the course) where you get to perform stand-up live on stage for the first time ever!
Complete beginners are welcome. No previous experience in stand up, writing or comedy are needed to do this course.
Our stand up comedy course is about giving you the skills to produce great work over the long-term. You’ll be equipped with the techniques and philosophies required to be more creative and fully express yourself!
We aim to help you express what is uniquely funny about you. We will instill in you a passion for comedy and the confidence to perform your own material.
We provide a playful and supportive environment for our students to perform a short set every week. We don’t think you can learn comedy from a book: you need to learn by doing it and finding out what is uniquely funny about you.
You will learn how to write hilarious material, and how to perform it with charisma and skill. Furthermore, you will be given an insider’s view of the circuit to avoid the common pitfalls of beginners. By the end of the course you’ll have an awesome 5 minute stand up set ready to go!
Our coaches are working professional performers. They have been there and done it, so they know all about the journey from beginner to professional. They have unique insight into what it takes, and what has helped them make the jump.
PLUS you get to join our vibrant community of previous stand-up students, regularly performing at our regularly stand-up night at our club!
next available dates
Online Dates:
Every Wednesday for 6 weeks from Wednesday 17th February 2021 with Nick Hall: (3 places left) BOOK NOW
Every Monday for 6 weeks from Monday 22nd March 2021: (4 places left) BOOK NOW
Every Monday for 6 weeks from Monday 11th January 2021 with Fran Bushe: SOLD OUT
Time: 7pm – 9:30pm each week.
Price: £170. Reduced to £155 for NHS workers or if your income has been greatly reduced by lockdown.
Venue: Online using zoom. All details for login for zoom will be emailed to participants on the day of the first workshop.
Stand Up for Women:
A brand new version of our online stand up course for women only.
Every Monday for 6 weeks from Monday 22nd February 2021 with Fran Bushe: BOOK NOW
Time: 7pm – 9:30pm each week.
Price: £170. Reduced to £155 for NHS workers or if your income has been greatly reduced by lockdown.
Venue: Online using zoom. All details for login for zoom will be emailed to participants on the day of the first workshop.
Real-Life Dates:
Every Tuesday for 8 weeks from Tuesday 13th April 2021 with Nick Hall, plus show on Wednesday 9th June 2021. BOOK NOW
Every Monday for 8 weeks from Monday 7th June 2021 with Fran Bushe, plus show on Wednesday 28th July 2021. BOOK NOW
Every Tuesday for 8 weeks from Tuesday 8th June 2021 with Nick Hall, plus show on Thursday 29th July 2021. BOOK NOW
Time: 7pm – 9:30pm each week.
Price: £240. Either payable all at once or with an initial payment of £100 followed by the remaining £140 once the course starts.
Venue: Kobi Nazrul Centre, 30 Hanbury Street, London, E1 6QR.
Tube: Liverpool Street or Shoreditch High Street.
Covid-19 Safety & Flexibility
We have kept class sizes low to ensure 2 metre distancing can stay in place. We have also redesigned games to make sure physically-distanced comedy is still fun, friendly and playful! We also offer full flexibility on bookings to give you peace of mind when planning ahead.
nick hall
Nick Hall is a stand-up, improviser and writer. He has written and performed for BBC2, BBC3, and BBC Radio 4.
Nick has taken six solo shows to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as well as performing at the Brighton Fringe, Latitude Festival, Soho Theatre, Princes Trust, and Bloomsbury Theatre.
Nick started his comedy career by beating the Gong at The Comedy Store, beating the Blackout at Up the Creek, and winning the New Act Night at the Comedy Café. He has now performed over 500 gigs across the UK and Europe.
Nick comperes a variety of live events, including cult movie night Hot Tub Cinema and hit football show Comedy Commentary. He also performs with The Committee, one of London’s hottest improvised comedy groups, and has appeared on Sky News, The Times Red Box podcast and written articles for The Independent.
“Crackingly original” ★★★★ The List
“Side splittingly funny” ★★★★★ ThreeWeeks
“Mad cap energy” ★★★★★ British Comedy Guide
“One not to miss” ★★★★ The Skinny
“Genuinely hilarious” ★★★★ Fringe Review
fran bushe
Fran Bushe is an award-winning comedian, writer and performer.
She has had sold-out runs at Soho Theatre, The Roundhouse and she has been a resident artist at Pleasance Theatre, Arts Depot and Theatre Deli.
An adaptation of Fran’s solo show Ad Libido has just been released by Channel 4 as a Comedy Blap.
Fran’s multi-award winning comedy play Ad Libido had a highly successful run at VAULT Festival (‘Highly Commended’ award winner, ★★★★ The Stage), Pleasance Theatre Edinburgh (Sold Out run, ★★★★ The Guardian, one of the Guardian’s top shows to see at the Edinburgh Fringe) and Soho Theatre, London in 2019.
Fran is a writer for Comedy Central’s sketch comedy show Laughing at Salad and her play Alive Day is published in 20 Short Plays with Big Roles for Women (Routledge Books). She has written features for The Guardian, Cosmopolitan, Metro and been a guest on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.
★★★★ “Relentlessly hilarious” The Stage
★★★★ “Smart and audacious” The Guardian
★★★★★ Londontheatre1
★★★★★ Arthur’s Seat
★★★★★ Fringe Review
★★★★ Theatre Weekly
★★★★ Upper Circle Theatre
Performer of the Year – Sexual Freedom Awards 2019
The Guardian’s ‘Best Shows of the Fringe 2018
what's included
An introduction to jokes:
We will look at the nuts and bolts of joke writing, common pitfalls, and basic “rules”. For example:
- Rule of three
- Pull back and reveal
- Cutting the fat: being lean
- Call-backs
- Toppers
- Set-ups: building tension and using misdirection
- Joke structures and storytelling
We will also look at some techniques to help generate material, including:
- Joke webs/spider diagrams
- Categories and sub-categories
- Emotion quadrants
- The surrealist inquisition sheet
Character as one of the crucial parts of good comedy:
Through teaching and group discussion we will look at the importance of character, and stand-ups with a distinctive “attitude” or “point of view” i.e. the character a stand-up uses onstage.
Alongside character, we will look at the importance of exaggeration in comedy: through exaggeration comes truth. The aim of this part of the course is to help the students identify the funniest part of their personality and turn it up to 11. Through this process the students will build their clown, their own distinctive comic character on the stage.
We’ll also look at the vital importance of conviction in both the writing and performance of material.
Observation/recognition based material:
The course will focus on the laughter of recognition, and the importance of being relatable with your material. Through truth you’ll find the funny, specifically your own truth. We will work on the students confessing to their own minutiae as that is what audiences connect most to.
Performance Skills:
One of the biggest objectives of the course is for the students to build their confidence, charisma, energy and presence. We will teach techniques and specific exercises to build skills, including:
- Body language
- Making everything BIG!
- Energy: physical, vocal and emotional
- Breaking the 4th wall and connecting with an audience
Stories:
We’ll look at building stories. How to take the cornel of a story and build it into a longer “bit”: full of jokes and amusing imagery. We teach people that stories are made, not born, and we will focus on the craft of building routines.
Final Preparations for the Performance:
Including mic technique, psychological warm-up planning to help prevent stage-fright, the ordering and linking of material (segues), easy errors to avoid.
faqs
We have kept class sizes low to ensure 2 metre distancing can stay in place. We have also redesigned games to make sure physically-distanced comedy is still fun, friendly and playful! We also offer full flexibility on bookings to give you peace of mind when planning ahead.
>> Improv and comedy are more fun than ever!
For additional FAQs please see list below:
Who is this suitable for?
Anyone interested in writing and performing stand up comedy.
What previous experience do I need before doing this course?
None. You don't need any previous writing or comedy experience before starting this course.
What comes after this course?
We also have a variety of sketch comedy and improv courses that go well with this course.
What if I’m running late?
We’ll be starting each session at 7pm. We’re trying to form a team, so please don’t book this course if you are likely to be late on a regular basis.
What’s the class size?
We have reduced class sizes while running after lockdown in order to keep physical distancing in place, so it will be a maximum of 12 people only.
What do I need to take part in the online version?
Laptop with camera and an internet connection. Laptops work better than phones or ipads, but phones and ipads also work.
Do I need to sign up to Zoom in advance for the online version?
No. On the day of the workshop we email you with all you need for zoom.
When do you email the Zoom link to take part for the online version?
On the day of the first workshop.
Is there an end of course show for the online one?
In the real-life version there will be an end of course show at our comedy club. For the online version there won't be a show but at each session you will be performing stand up to the rest of the class online over zoom. At the end of the course you will have a whole stand up set developed that you will perform to the rest of the class.