Shows being pulled last-minute without compensation, sexist bookers cancelling female performers and waiting months for payment – being a comedian has a distinctly unfunny side.



When faced with such problems, comics haven’t previously had the backing or protection of an official trade organisation. But as of last month they have both a new group, the UK Comedy Guild, and the help of actors’ union Equity, which has announced it will recognise comedians for the first time in its 85-year history – a move that has been welcomed by the likes of Rory Bremner, Alan Davies and Jeremy Hardy.



The guild has been formed with the aim of raising minimum standards across the live comedy circuit and settling informal disputes and has published a code of conduct for comedians, promoters and producers to abide by.

Sara Pascoe: ‘There are certain things I’ve done that are just horrible’ Read more

“The idea is to bring some best practice to the industry, and have some sort of mediator, rather than us just whinging about it on car journeys or on forums and social media,” says the comedian Sara Pascoe, one of the guild’s founders.

“There are so many problems: why pay doesn’t go up with inflation, or cancellation fees if you get an expensive train journey and then the gig gets pulled. There are problems for promoters too, as comics sometimes pull out at the last minute. And what is a fair amount for a promoter to earn if they’ve spent 50 hours that month working to fill the room?”



The guild, which was unveiled last month, has a membership of more than 400 people, including some of the biggest names in standup, and a central council of 30. Its code lists 25 recommendations for performers and 37 for promoters and producers. Comics are recommended, for example, to “never steal another act’s material”, and “if cancelling within a week of performance, the performer should offer to make reasonable efforts to find a suitable replacement”.

The wild west world of standup comedy Read more

The initial impetus for the campaign was a sustained period of non-payment by Jongleurs, the chain of comedy clubs. Jongleurs has been settling its debts with the acts, and the campaign has now broadened out to a more wide-ranging remit.

A spokesperson for Jongleurs tells the Guardian that “it was a horrific situation that the backlog built up, and to add insult to injury there was a no clear communication. There continue to be mistakes, but the direction is more positive. We welcome the formation of the guild and the Equity network as they can help ensure similar backlogs don’t occur in future.”

Pascoe adds: “The Jongleurs situation got resolved but it made comics realise that we needed a quick way to sort any problems out, as it went on for such a long time.

“We don’t want to make people’s life harder when it comes to running a comedy gig, but we think it’s a good idea to provide a document that is available to everyone from Glee to the Stand to the Comedy Store to the open mic circuit.”

Equity, which formed in 1930 and “represents artists from across the entire spectrum of arts and entertainment”, has created a “comedians’ network” which will lobby on behalf of comics on five fronts: “fair pay, safe working conditions, protection from harassment and discrimination, fair treatment in the workplace, and a standard contract for gigs.” That contract has now been drawn up and has been sent to clubs to be adopted.

The 99 Club – one of the UK’s leading comedy chains – has used Equity’s standard contract for comics for its most recent season of booking. Its founder, James Woroniecki, says one of the chief targets is the sexism that remains endemic on the live circuit. “There is still this thing where people say, ‘Oh, women aren’t funny.’ You wouldn’t get this in any other industry – saying a woman can’t do this job – as there would be a lawsuit, but it seems absolutely fine to say that in comedy.

“It’s absolutely dreadful and lots of promoters still only book one comedian, or even view women as a genre. They might say, ‘I’ve got a magician, an observational comic, a woman…’ You get well-established clubs saying this. It must be very demoralising, constantly having people say you can’t do your job because of your gender,” Woroniecki says.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Comedy Store in London. Photograph: John Alex Maguire/REX

Woroniecki adds that female comics being dropped off late at night in isolated places or being expected to share a hotel room with a male comic were other issues that had been raised.

Some matters are more ambiguous, such as “bringer gigs”, where comics are only booked if they can bring friends or family to the show, which is hardly sustainable for a comic gigging every week. Bringer gigs are commonplace in the US, but have come up against strong opposition in Britain. Similarly, a recent trend on the live circuit has been free clubs undermining and even completely displacing nearby paid, professional nights. The question of whether this is fair for promoters in paid venues, or healthy for the circuit as a whole, has been the subject of much debate.

Comedians are good at moaning about their predicament but less good at organising to change things for the better Ivor Dembina

This isn’t the first time British comedians have attempted to organise. Comics such as Sean Hughes, Eddie Izzard and Ivor Dembina tried, but failed, to form a union in the early 1990s. Dembina, who still performs and runs the Hampstead Comedy Club today, says: “It collapsed under the bureaucracy and the weight of its own ambition, as we wanted to change the comedy world. Comedians are very good at moaning about their predicament but less good at organising to change things for the better, so I’m pleased that [today’s comics] are taking it more seriously.

“The difference between [the guild] and what we tried back then was that comedians then were in a position of strength. Demand for good comedians far outstripped supply, and there were far more paid gigs for comics. Today it’s the opposite as there are far fewer paid slots and 27 million more comedians, so they’re far more fearful and scared about their future.”