Comedy

It started when stand-up and storyteller Terry Saunders heard that bands had been doing gigs in New York launderettes. Why not do the same with comedy? Saunders approached the owners of the launderette near his home in Chapel Market, Islington. They weren’t interested. He put the idea on the back burner.

Then he met Tom Searle at the Edinburgh Fringe. Searle’s a born organiser and was in Edinburgh working for production/management company GSOH (Good Sense of Humour). Now he and Saunders run an outfit called Laughter in Odd Places, allowing them to put on free monthly Sunday-afternoon shows in unlikely places. ‘It’s an attempt to demonstrate that comedy doesn’t have to happen in a pub,’ says Saunders. ‘It doesn’t always need to be connected with boozing or getting drunk.’ Feature continues

Their first offering was in October 2006 in the children’s section of a south London library. Since then, their favoured venues have included a charity shop in Crouch End, a vegan café in New Cross and a record shop in Kingston. At Christmas they turned an art gallery into a grotto where the comedians could disport themselves. They spent £200 of their own money on the decorations. ‘No, we’re not rich people,’ Searle admits. He recently completed a psychology degree at Goldsmiths. He’s getting by on the remains of his student loan.

Saunders describes his day job as designing presentations for investment bankers. Except it’s not a day job. For three to four nights a week he’s sitting at a computer. ‘I’ll do a comedy gig and then leave it to go to work. When the others go off for a drink, I’m heading for the office. Next morning I can get some sleep, then start to think about the gig that evening.’

So far, the Laughter in Odd Places shows haven’t been publicised. They’re available to the 200 or so members who’ve enrolled on the mailing list. Emails go out announcing an event and an audience gathers. On a Sunday afternoon in April, Searle and Saunders laid an adventure trail across Hampstead Heath to a picnic/performance beside a bandstand. Chaos ensued for a while when park wardens discovered the signs and took them down. But around 80 followers ran the gauntlet of officialdom to witness comedian Robin Ince and others in the great outdoors. ‘It’s about having fun,’ Saunders says. ‘It’s something special and lovely.’ Searle rightly wants to emphasise that the whole concept has nothing to do with gimmicks. ‘They’re always good shows. They’d be good comedy shows wherever they happened.’

On July 5, Laughter in Odd Places moves into the Museum of London. This one’s an exception to the normal pattern. It’s on a Thursday. It’s taking place in the evening. And, for once, it’s being made known to the general public. But admission is still free. A group of comedians (they include Sarah Kendall, Joanna Neary, Howard Read, Simon Munnery, Paul Foot and sketch outfits We Are Klang and The Ornate Johnsons) will do their stuff at various points among the exhibits. Each act will do 20 minutes. At any given time, three acts will be performing simultaneously in different locations. ‘This means that any member of the audience will miss more acts than they see,’ Searle points out. ‘But the evening consists of three sections, so visitors can put together their own three-act bill.’

For the comedians the incentive is to participate in something unusual. Sarah Kendall thought it sounded weird and she could go for a beer with Neary afterwards. Brian Mitchell of The Ornate Johnsons anticipates a friendly crowd and a great atmosphere. Joanna Neary says she can’t wait: ‘I’ll have jokes about museums, London and the word “of”.’

Paul Foot says he’ll perform in the Roman dining room ‘I shall be airing some general concerns about life and then doing a mime about a Roman-London kitchen skivvy, who elopes in a hot-air balloon with a lord. I shall speak throught the mime, so that the audience can know what is going on.’ Terry Saunders will introduce the evening and lead the punters gently through the available. ‘It’s not the usual kind of compering job at all. I see myself as more like a museum guide.’ He’s hoping the museum authorities will let him wear a Roman centurion’s
helmet.

After this gig, Saunders and Searle move up to Edinburgh for the Festival. They have several Laughter in Odd Places spots in mind, including an antique shop and Arthur’s Seat. Then it’s back to London and small-scale shows. The possibilities are endless. Saunders still has his eyes on that launderette.

Laughter in Odd Places takes place at the Museum of London, London Wall, EC2, in partnership with Time Out First Thursdays, at 6.30pm on July 5. See www.myspace.com/laughterinoddplaces