Regular cinema goers will attest to prevalence of comedy movies amongst the homegrown offerings at Bangkok's cinemas, and, for those who aren't, life that passes by the window can provide all the humour you might need.But what about comedy by expats for expats? Comedy clubs are a part of the furniture in many western cities but the art of standup and improv has yet to take off in Thailand's capital.
But all that might be about to change.
It is the first dedicated English language comedy venue in Bangkok
BKK events recently sat down with Brit Chris Wegoda and Canadian Drew McCreadie at the soon to be opened Bangkok Comedy Club, they shared their goals for the club and discussed the wider Bangkok comedy scene.
We met Drew on the ground floor of the Royal Oak pub in Phrom Phong, he guided us up to the club where we were met by the universal symbol for stand up: a stage and microphone stand. The stage is surrounded by seating for 120 and has its own bar, there are two entrances, one up from the street and one from the inside of the Royal Oak. The room is unique to Bangkok as it is the first, dedicated English language comedy venue the city has ever had. Chris is an actor and comedian, and an alumnus of the open-mic nights at the now closed Londoner, he explains how important it is for comedy fans to have somewhere they can go every night of the week. Drew joins in saying he sees the potential audience as present but dormant as too many comedy events are at pubs or move around to different places on odd nights of the week. This draws the slightly accurate picture that stand up comedy isn't that popular here so casual fans don't seek it out. The aim of the club is to be the centre of the comedy scene in Bangkok and to be a place for local talent to grow.
The Comedy Club Bangkok - The stageThe Comedy Club Bangkok - The stage
They also want to make a name for themselves in the region and are in contact with Comedy Central Asia and The Comedy Club Asia and intend to fly in globally recognised stand-ups to perform here.
Talking more loosely about the comedy scene in general, both agreed that the live art aspect of standup and improv is key to the success of the genre. Too many people watch comedy online and miss out on the atmosphere and character of a bona fide comedy club. Certainly the impression you get walking up the tight staircase is that you're somewhere uniquely suited to the type of experience comedy should be.
The Comedy Club Bangkok isn't only for expats, as Drew, whose experience is mainly in improv and writing, wants to see a resurgence of improv comedy and feels like the next generation of English speaking Bangkok locals and expats is ready to learn more about it. Drew has several shows and concepts already tried out at other venues and both he and Chris are heavily involved in the performing arts scene in Bangkok.
Opening night is the 12th of September and will feature a mix of standup and improv as well as a few other surprises this experienced performance group has planned.
From that day on expect to see a variety of sketch comedy, improv, stand up and open mic nights. Anyone who has their own improv group or solo show will be welcome to come and perform, and as it builds its name and draws more talent to Bangkok expect to hear more about The Comedy Club Bangkok.
The Comedy Club Bangkok is located above The Royal Oak on Sukhumvit Soi 33/1, the entrance is to the right of the pub. The nearest Skytrain station is Phrom Phong which is a few hundred metres away.
For more information visit their Website comedyclubbangkok.com
Originally posted at:
https://bangkok.oneplace.events/articles/feature/the-comedy-club-bangkok