The Canberra Comedy Club has a new home at Verity Lane Market. Photo: Comedy Club ACT.
After calling last laughs on its former location in January, the Canberra Comedy Club has found itself a new home at Louie Louie – upstairs at Verity Lane Market.
The space once housed another Canberra icon, the Private Bin.
It even has an archetypal brick wall made famous by so many comedy clubs over the years.
Its more than a decade-long run in the upstairs Whiskey Room at the Civic Pub came to an end earlier this year when the pub’s owners decided to stop using the site for functions and gigs.
Waving goodbye to the venue wasn’t easy, but things are now looking up.
One half of the duo behind the club, David Graham, said they had successfully managed to carry the same great vibes over to the new venue in the heart of the Sydney Building.
“We were sad to say goodbye to the end of an era at the Civic Pub but the move has actually come with a few silver linings for us,” he said.
“It’s even more central, there are loads of dinner options underneath for people who want to grab a bite to eat and then pop upstairs for a gig. The room itself has been fit out perfectly, including big curtains, a stage and a sound system.
“The space has also been newly renovated but it still retains that character feel with exposed bricks and the like.”
There’s also a bar upstairs and downstairs so visitors can grab drinks before, during or after the show.
The Comedy Club at the Civic Pub ran for about 12 years. Photo: Supplied.
In another boost for organisers, the new venue is significantly larger than their previous site.
“The Civic Pub was very intimate – you could have about 70 people at a time,” David said.
The new venue houses 150-170 guests to meet Canberra’s pent-up demand to get out and enjoy an evening.
“After two years of no comedy – which sucked – there’s certainly been a vibe of people just going `thank God I can go to something’,” he said.
“I’ve also noticed it with all of the other smaller clubs popping up around in the suburbs – in Evatt, Turner, Downer and Queanbeyan for example. That only comes out of demand because the bigger rooms like us are getting full.
“And it’s a nice night out! Dinner, drinks and a comedy show. It’s fantastic.”
The comedy club will be running gigs twice a month for the rest of the year; its program will be announced shortly.
For more information, visit the Comedy Club.
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