What is an ambush gig?

This is an explanation of what I mean by the term 'ambush gig'

An ambush gig is a stand-up comedy gig where the crowd didn’t come expecting to see stand-up comedy.

The most common case is a pub that has decided it wants to put on a comedy night, but doesn’t realise that comedy needs a separate room to work. So you’ll be performing in the main bar, to a crowd who mostly showed up to socialise with their friends, trying to talk over music and the sounds of fruit machines, in front of a TV silently showing an ongoing terror attack.

Another type of ambush gig is when someone organising an event like a wedding or a birthday party decides to book a comedian, even though the guests aren’t expecting to see stand-up comedy and many of them don’t like it.

Even if the crowd sits politely and listens, they probably won’t be very responsive.

Don’t try to do stand-up comedy to people without their consent. Don’t do ambush gigs.

My advice based on bitter experience is that if you get to a gig and realise it’s an ambush gig, just walk - unless you have a really good reason to stay.