Recommended gigs for London open mic acts

Good gigs you can do as a relatively new act (regrettably London-centric)

(This list is out of date - I have edited as of July 2024 to remove nights that are defunct or I would no longer recommend. I will try to replace it with something better when I have time).

If you want a comprehensive listing of all the open mics in London, go to London Standup Comedy Map. This isn’t that.

This is a list of gigs that you can do as a (relatively) beginner open mic act that I would recommend and have done myself. I will try to update it periodically, but don’t rely on the information about locations, bringer requirements or how to book as it may be out of date.

• Most of them are not bringers (where the acts are required to provide an audience)

• Most of them tend to attract at least some real audience, so you won’t be playing just to comics and their friends/relatives

Just because a gig isn’t on this list, doesn’t mean I’m saying you shouldn’t do it. If you’re very new to comedy, pretty much any gig will help you improve (provided it’s not an ambush gig to a crowd of people who came to the pub to play pool and aren’t listening at all).

Most of the below are promoted/booked through The Comedy Collective group or the London (UK) Comedy Collective group on Facebook. You should join both of those if you’re looking for gigs.

Normal gigs

Angel Comedy RAW

A show with a real crowd at the Camden Head, Angel. Only books every 3 months on 1st of March, June, September and December. See under I want to perform at Angel Comedy! here for details.

Comedy in Your Eye

Great format where a giant eye watches you and judges your act. Used to be a bringer but now it’s not because they put in the work to build an audience. Apply here.

Downstairs At The Kings Head

Thursdays at The Kings Head, Crouch End. You have to call them up on the phone and ask for a slot (details here), which means that fragile millennial/Gen Z acts are too scared to book, reducing competition. Chance of progression to other nights at the venue if you’re good enough (I’m not).

Lewis Schaffer’s Open Mic Night

Room above a pub in Borough. Find booking details on Facebook. Try to get through your material while Lewis interrupts with personal questions, asks you to explain any pop culture reference post-1979, and wrongly diagnoses you with diabetes. The night is followed by a free seminar on fringe theories of nutrition. Good for developing new material. I have looked into the allegations and they don’t seem credible. Chance of progression to Resonance FM guest.

Outside London

If you have the time and money, it’s worth applying for Red Raw at The Stand - if you’re from London they let you do their open mic nights in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle on consecutive nights (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) so you can pretend you’re on tour like a proper comedian. The Hot Water Club in Liverpool has an open mic on Sundays you can get on too. Going out of London makes it easier to get into the proper clubs and get a good video.

Bringer gigs

These are currently bringers but they also do enough promotion to attract additional audience, and are great nights to do.

Sunday Shtick

Booked through Facebook. Rose & Crown, Kentish Town.

Gong shows

(Explanation of what a gong show is)

I wouldn’t even try to do a gong show until you’ve done enough normal gigs to seem confident on stage. On the other hand, I’ve seen much newer acts than me get through while I was gonged off, so - as always - take my advice with a pinch of salt. Don’t try to do anything too high concept - you want to have jokes jokes jokes with no filler. Take your best 10 minutes and boil it down to 5.

The Blackout

Thursdays, Up The Creek Greenwich. You get a two minute grace period before you can be gonged off, and you’re performing to real paying punters. Apparently if you can do well at this repeatedly they will consider putting you on at other nights (I’m not good enough). Also often have last-minute cancellation spots if you’re quick at replying to the email.

Ding Dong Gong Show

Sundays in Vauxhall. One minute grace period. The only gong show I have managed to get through so far. If you get through the gong they give you a spot in the week, and the best of the night gets a weekend spot.

Roast battle

If you’re comfortable with mean-spirited jokes (that are all in good fun), I would recommend doing Roast Battle UK. Friday nights at 11ish. It’s a real comedy crowd who are usually pretty drunk and up for some dark comedy.

The format is that you take turns to ‘roast’ (humorously insult) an opposing act. You will each provide facts about yourself ahead of time for the opponent to make fun of. You each do five jokes. After your opponent does a joke, you can do a rebuttal before your own joke, so this is an opportunity to practise being funny in the moment (or you can just write comebacks for likely topics/lines of attack).

You can apply with a partner or just ask them to pair you up. I’d recommend applying in a pair with someone you know initially.

You get £20 if you win your battle, and there’s an annual knockout tournament with a £500 prize.

I don’t know if doing this helps your comedy career in general but it’s a great gig to do once you get the hang of it. I wrote up an article with tips for doing roast battles.